as the primary backdrop for the TV show Vega$ which aired on ABC from 1978 to 1981. The 1980s Aaron Spelling soap opera Dynasty included footage of the hotel, and use of the Presidential Suite. The hit 1980s NBC TV series Remington Steele filmed its 60th Las Vegas-set episode at the inn, where both the exterior and interior are shown regularly throughout the episode. Legacy The closure of the Desert Inn in 2000 and subsequent demolition was unpopular with many as it seemed to mark the end of old Las Vegas. Historian Michael Green stated: "To a lot of people outside of Las Vegas, these two places (the Desert Inn and the Sands) really meant Las Vegas. These were the places that represent the images of Las Vegas, in a far greater way than the Dunes, the Aladdin, the Hacienda and the Landmark". Robert Maheu, Howard Hughes's head of Nevada operations and publicist for many years, remarked that the "Desert Inn was the gem of Las Vegas". The hotel remained popular with locals until the end, as the heavily tourism-driven modern Las Vegas emerged in the 1990s. Desert Inn Road Desert Inn Road is a 17¼ mile west–east road part of the Las Vegas Valley grid road system. It travels through residential, commercial, and industrial areas and exists as a major thoroughfare in the area. At the Las Vegas Strip exists a 2½ mile expressway portion of the road officially called the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial that acts an arterial road between Winchester and Paradise. The expressway opened in 1996 and had a construction cost of US$84 million. See also References Citations Sources External links Video of Desert Inn implosion, October 23, 2001 Jac Lessman architectural records and papers, 1925-1975. Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Defunct hotels in the Las Vegas Valley Las Vegas Strip Howard Hughes Landmarks in Nevada Skyscraper hotels in Paradise, Nevada Casinos completed in 1950 Hotel buildings completed in 1950 Hotel buildings completed in 1967 Hotel buildings completed in 1997 Demolished hotels in Clark County, Nevada Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion Buildings and structures demolished in 2001 Buildings and structures demolished in 2004 Hotels established in 1950 1950 establishments in Nevada 2000 disestablishments in Nevada Casino hotels Hotels disestablished in 2000