Thirty years ago, Treasure Island welcomed guests with a bang.
Mirage Resorts developer Steve Wynn wanted to capture the imaginative spirit of Las Vegas through his newest resort, a pirate theme inspired by the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. He welcomed gamblers to his property on Oct. 26, and on Oct. 27 a grand opening ceremony tied the new resort to future development on the Strip when cannons from the pirate ships went off at the same time as the demolition of the Dunes hotel, the spot that would later become the Bellagio.
The week-one spectacle set the tone for what Treasure Island would be for years to come. The resort celebrated its 30th anniversary on Thursday. Its opening in 1993 was part of a boom in growth on the Strip as operators tried to cast a wider net of visitors that reached beyond gamblers.
