they had to knock out walls in the hotel's southern end stairwell. This presented a potential problem for CDI, as wall strength is an important factor in properly controlling an implosion. CDI expected that the south end would not fall with the rest of the hotel. All of the walls in the hotel were built to be reinforced. The implosion took place on the night of December 31, 1996, and was televised as the culmination of Fox's New Year's special Sinbad's Dynamite New Year's Eve, where it aired approaching midnight ET. The coverage featured a cameo by ring announcer Michael Buffer. A six-minute fireworks show led up to the implosion at 9:00 p.m. More than 1,000 pounds of explosives were used for the implosion, which was watched by a crowd of more than 300,000 people. As expected, the southern end of the hotel did not fall. The next day, a crew was brought in to bring down the remaining structure with a wrecking ball. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch the final demolition. Circus Circus Enterprises opened the Mandalay Bay resort on March 2, 1999, replacing the Hacienda. The company also licensed the Hacienda name to the Hacienda Hotel and Casino near Boulder City, Nevada. The name also continues to live on through Hacienda Avenue, a road that runs along the Mandalay Bay property, although a small portion was renamed Mandalay Bay Road. Entertainers and shows When the Hacienda opened, several other Las Vegas resorts had suffered financially after competing for high-priced entertainers. Initially, the Hacienda owners did not intend to battle for top performers, and the only live entertainment would be lounge acts. In the late 1950s, the Hacienda debuted a show by Cole Porter called Can-Can. In 1964, the resort hosted the puppet show Les Poupées de Paris. Comedian Hank Henry also performed at the Hacienda during the mid-1960s. The resort also offered shows such as Strictly Burlesque and Topless Models. After taking ownership of the Hacienda, Glick said in 1973 that the resort would return to the "friendly image of the past" by eliminating nude stage shows. In 1967, the Hacienda hosted a two-hour late-night TV program called The Las Vegas Show on the fledgling United Network. Hosted by Bill Dana and featuring regulars Ann Elder, Pete Barbutti, Danny Meahan, Joanne Worley, Cully Richards and Jack Sheldon, the show (and the network) were shut down after only