It was once a pioneer of the Las Vegas gambling industry, one of just two hotels rising triumphantly from the Nevada Desert and the original themed casino that spawned the myriad Egypts and Ancient Romes which now line the town’s famous Strip.

Today, the New Frontier Hotel was demolished to make way for a new generation of uber-luxury mega-resorts, its carcass imploding amid clouds of choking dust.

The 16 storey hotel tower was razed to the ground by 1,000 pounds of explosives in front of a gathering of reporters and nostalgic onlookers, as part of a dramatic facelift for the Strip. Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, whose Elad Group is partnering with IDB Group to build an $8 billion (£4 billion) megaresort in its place, shook hands and offered hugs as the rubble settled.

Opening as the cowboy-themed Last Frontier Hotel in 1942, the casino flirted for a time with the space age before eventually returning to the Wild West.

Once owned by billionaire Howard Hughes, it secured its place in Vegas history by hosting Elvis Presley’s city debut and in the 40s and 50s was a popular stop for entertainers such as Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan and Josephine Baker.

But in recent years it acquired a scruffy, down-at-heel image, becoming known among Vegas aficionados for bikini bull riding, cheap hotel rooms and $5 craps before it closed its doors for the final time in July.

In contrast, the new property, bearing Elad Group’s Plaza brand, is to include a luxury hotel with around 3,500 rooms, private residences, retail space and a casino bearing The Plaza brand, all aiming at the most lofty end of the market.

“Let me promise to all of you today that we will build in this beautiful city one of the most magnificent hotels in the world,” Tshuva told a gathering before the implosion. “I think that there should be no price tag for a place with such enormous potential.”

To those who found a certain fascination in the decaying kitcsh of Vegas' older institutions, however, the Strip may have lost a little of its charm today.

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