LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Crews imploded the Eastside Cannery Hotel-Casino along Boulder Highway, and spectators gathered across the street to watch the building come down.
The Longhorn Casino hosted a demolition party, selling parking spaces for $25 and rooms for $250 to give guests a front-row seat to the implosion. The event drew visitors from out of state as well as longtime Las Vegas locals.
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‘I want to watch it, I want to feel it’
Mark Carson said the implosion was his first demolition. He brought his guitar and secured a parking space across from the Cannery.
“I want to watch it, I want to feel it,” Carson said. “I’m a retired carpenter. I spent all my career building them. This will be the first time I watch it in real life, bring ‘em down.”
The Cannery was built in 2008 but closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened.
Out-of-towners make the drive
Gus Biner said he drove from San Diego for the event. He said the Cannery was one of his favorite casinos and that he typically stays at the Longhorn Casino when he visits Las Vegas.
“I’m from San Diego, and this is one of my favorite casinos,” Biner said. “It’s just I have never seen a building come down live, you always see it on the news but never live.”
Mixed reaction to what comes next
Not everyone at the party was focused on the spectacle. Sue Jaszekowski told FOX5 she has fond memories of the Cannery and said this demolition feels personal, despite having watched multiple implosions on the Las Vegas Strip.
“They had the best nightclub on top — and happy hour martini night on Friday nights was the best — we met so many great people over there,” she said.
Housing is planned for the site. Reaction to that news was mixed among those gathered.
“I am not excited about that at all,” Jaszekowski said.
“I like progress, and I like seeing the progress,” said Carson.
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