Castles of "United States" EL CID CASTLE vs EXCALIBUR HOTEL AND CASINO

EL CID CASTLE

El Cid Castle was a landmark structure located on the opposite side of the western boundary of Sunnyslope, Arizona. The controversial castle, built by...

El Cid Castle was a landmark structure located on the opposite side of the western boundary of Sunnyslope, Arizona. The controversial castle, built by the late Dr. Kenneth Hall, was supposed to be a bowling alley which resembled a Moorish Castle. Construction on the structure began in 1963 and was completed in 1980. Dr. Kenneth E. Hall was born in Oklahoma. During World War II, Hall enlisted in the U.S. Army, graduated from the University of Arkansas Medical School, and was honorably discharged after a brief deployment to Italy in 1945. In 1948, he moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Hall established clinics in South Phoenix and Sunnyslope (Sunnyslope was not part of Phoenix at the time). Dr. Hall wanted to be known as the “King of Sunnyslope” and built the biggest house in Sunnyslope. Sunnyslope had attempted to be incorporated as its own town on four occasions but failed every time. In 1959, the City of Phoenix annexed the community of Sunnyslope. By then, Dr. Hall operated the North Mountain Hospital, a 40-bed hospital in Sunnyslope, which he built in 1955. The hospital had a primate zoo located on the hospital grounds. Dr. Hall felt that the growing population of Sunnyslope needed recreational facilities and therefore in 1963, he illegally diverted $16,564 in Medicare funds to help in the construction of a bowling alley which resembled a Moorish Castle. The castle was to be a 65,000-square-foot building under one roof in 20 acres of land at 19th Avenue and Cholla Street. The venture was to include thirty-two bowling alley lanes, an ice skating rink, four recreation rooms for teenagers and a snack bar. The castle was also supposed to include multiple nightclubs and a French restaurant. It was named "El Cid", after an 11th-century Spanish hero whose life was depicted in a Hollywood motion picture in 1961.

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EXCALIBUR HOTEL AND CASINO

Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned and operated by...

Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International. Excalibur, named for the mythical sword of King Arthur, uses the Medieval theme in several ways. Its facade is a stylized image of a castle (see also: List of castles in the United States). Until 2007, a wizard-like figure representing Merlin looked out from a high turret (since replaced by a figure advertising Dick's Last Resort). Excalibur is situated at the Tropicana – Las Vegas Boulevard intersection. The hotel is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to neighboring casinos to the north (New York-New York, across Tropicana Avenue) and to the east (Tropicana, across the Strip). A free tram connects Excalibur to its sister MGM Resorts International properties to the south, Luxor and Mandalay Bay. The land on which the Excalibur sits was originally the proposed site of the Xanadu Resort envisioned in 1975. The 1,730 room Asian-tropical-themed resort would have been the first mega-resort in Las Vegas. The project was never built when the developers could not secure a deal with the county on the sewer infrastructure such a large project would have required. Circus Circus Enterprises constructed Excalibur which opened on June 19, 1990, as the largest hotel in the world, with more than 4,000 rooms covering over 70 acres. As of 2016 it is the seventh-largest hotel (by total number of rooms) in Las Vegas, and the eleventh-largest hotel worldwide. MGM Resorts International purchased the property in 2005. Excalibur was designed in line with the "theme resort" strategy popular among some casino operators during the 1990s, which included the traditional Las Vegas gaming experience coupled with family-oriented elements. However, since 2006 most of the medieval-themed statues and scenery have been removed as part of a four-year renovation and modernization project. As of 2010, few of the themed wall murals still remained as Excalibur was updated to include more modern and understated elements, including contemporary furniture and flat-screen plasma TVs in 2,000 renovated guest rooms. On March 21, 2003, Josh Ford of Los Angeles hit the largest Megabucks Jackpot to date of US$39.7 million at Excalibur.

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