Blast Demolishes Historic Vegas Hotel

The venerable Sands Hotel, once the playground of the entertainment world’s elite, was reduced to a pile of rubble Tuesday in a 7-second finale.

“It’s sad to see it gone, but life goes on,” Sands owner Sheldon Adelson said shortly before Tuesday’s implosion, gazing out a window of a penthouse suite overlooking the deserted skeleton of his darkened landmark.

Adelson, who bought the hotel casino in 1989, plans a 6,000-room Venetian-themed resort on the Sands property.

Crowds along the Strip cheered as two warning sirens sounded.

Then a series of loud blasts as charges of strategically-placed dynamite were detonated. The building shuddered, then crumpled downward accordion style, spreading a dense cloud of dust along a block of the Strip.