relatively safe distance while drinking Atomic Cocktails. In 1959, Lawrence Wien, owner of New York City's Plaza Hotel purchased the hotel, but signed a management deal for Clark to remain as manager. In the early 1960s, the mafia-financed casino hotels of the Las Vegas Strip and Nevada came under close scrutiny by the FBI, and they placed increased pressure on the Nevada Gaming Control Board to force the mobsters out of Las Vegas. After Sam Giancana was spotted on the premises of Frank Sinatra's Cal Neva Lodge & Casino at Lake Tahoe, his gambling license was removed by the Board and he was forced to sell up and forfeit his share in the Sands Hotel and Casino. The Desert Inn faced similar scrutiny by the FBI, attracting controversy at the same time for the involvement of Dalitz and his mobster associates, but simultaneously called for the prosecution of the FBI for illegal wiretapping. In 1964, Clark sold his remaining share in the hotel to Dalitz and business associates Morris Kleinman, Thomas McGinty and Sam Tucker. He died of a heart attack the following year. The bell captain of the Desert Inn, Jack Butler, remembered Clark: "Wilbur was the greatest guy. Without him this town never would've got off the ground. Everyone came into the club just to see him and he was all over the postcards. He was the only boss who would agree to have his picture taken". The Desert Inn's most famous guest, businessman Howard Hughes, arrived on Thanksgiving Day 1966, renting the hotel's entire top two floors. After staying past his initial ten-day reservation, he was asked to leave in December so that the resort could accommodate the high rollers who were expected for New Year's Eve. Instead of leaving, Hughes started negotiations to buy the Desert Inn. On March 27, 1967, Hughes purchased the resort from Dalitz for $6.2 million in cash and $7 million in loans. This was the first of many Las Vegas resort purchases by Hughes, including the Sands Hotel and Casino ($14.6 million) and the Frontier Hotel and Casino ($23 million). However, Hughes refused to include the PGA Tour Tournament of Champions in the deal, so Dalitz moved the tournament to his Stardust Resort and Casino in 1967 and 1968. The reclusive Hughes continued to live in his penthouse suite at the Desert Inn for four years, never leaving his bedroom. Usually