El Rancho Hotel and Casino

The El Rancho Hotel and Casino was a hotel and casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada from 1982 to 1992. It was known as The Thunderbird Hotel from its opening in 1948 to 1976, and The Silverbird from 1977 to 1981.

After its closure, the El Rancho sat vacant for eight years while two companies made several attempts to reopen or replace the resort, which was eventually demolished in 2000, after a news report found the decrepit buildings to be in violation of health and safety regulations.

History

Thunderbird

On September 2, 1948, the Thunderbird Hotel was the fourth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The resort was built by developer Marion Hicks and owned by Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Clifford A. Jones. The resort had a Native American theme and featured portraits, a Navajo-based restaurant, the only bowling alley ever on the Strip, and a showroom. In 1955, articles surfaced in the Las Vegas Sun saying that Meyer Lansky and other underworld figures held hidden shares in the hotel.