Sands Hotel and Casino closed in 1952.
The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada , United States , that operated from 1952 to 1996 . The hotel was established in 1952 by Texan oil tycoon Jake Freedman , who bought up the LaRue Restaurant , which had opened two years earlier . The hotel was opened on December 15 , 1952 as a casino with 200 rooms , and was established less than three months after the opening of another notable landmark , Sahara Hotel and Casino . In 1960 the classic caper film Ocean 's 11 was shot at the hotel , and it subsequently attained iconic status , with regular performances by Sinatra , Dean Martin , Sammy Davis . In the mid 1960s , Sands and its adjacent properties were bought by the reclusive businessman Howard Hughes , who built a 500-room tower and modernized the hotel .