Stardust to dust

LAS VEGAS -- All that's left of the Stardust now is dust.

The once-glitzy casino on the Las Vegas Strip known for its bargain rooms, friendly service and mobbed-up past was imploded early Tuesday in a hail of fireworks.

The implosion paves the way for Boyd Gaming's $4.4 billion megaresort complex, Echelon.

Hundreds of guests partied beneath tents and on makeshift patios before Boyd chairman Bill Boyd's four grandsons set off a pyrotechnics display and detonation that generated a massive dust cloud.

The dust chased revelers into cars, buses and nearby casinos.

The property opened in 1958, billing itself as the world's largest resort hotel with more than 1,000 rooms.

It is credited with being Las Vegas' first mass-market casino, thanks to cheap rates and loss-leading food and drinks.

Bob Boughner, Echelon Resorts' chief executive, said while the Stardust was a favorite of the nostalgia crowd, it was missing out on younger patrons and those who come to Las Vegas for conventions.

He said Echelon will offer Boyd customers a more upscale product.