LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Eastside Cannery Casino on Boulder Highway is set to be imploded Thursday morning, marking the end of a property that has sat closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 16-story hotel and casino first opened in 2008 and was designed to serve locals in the east Las Vegas Valley. In its prime, the property had more than 300 hotel rooms, a casino floor, and restaurants.
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Like casinos across Nevada, the Eastside Cannery shut down in March 2020 when the pandemic forced a statewide closure of gaming properties. While most resorts eventually reopened, the Eastside Cannery remained shuttered.
Boyd Gaming, which owns the property, now plans to implode the hotel tower at 2 a.m. on Thursday, bringing the building down in seconds.
The company says the land will not remain vacant. Boyd Gaming has said the site is expected to be redeveloped in the future, with housing potentially part of the plan.
The demolition also comes at a time with several improvements along the Boulder Highway corridor, including roadway redesigns and pedestrian safety projects aimed at attracting new development.
For some Las Vegas residents, the implosion carries a personal meaning.
Beth Toth says she plans to attend the implosion in memory of her father, who loved following casino demolitions around the valley.
“Five years ago, we lost my dad to COVID,” Toth said. “Before every implosion in town, he would call me and say, ‘Are you going?’ So when I heard about this one, I decided I was going to come for my dad,” Toth said.
Toth says watching the tower come down will be bittersweet.
“We would have a good time,” she said. “So it’s kind of bittersweet as well that it’s going.”
