Sunday, May 15, 2011

'Rat Pack' at the Sands Hotel and Casino


Sands Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
A Place in the Sun

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop

This postcard is unused. 

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The Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip. In its time, the Sands was located next door to the Desert Inn. The two adjacent properties were once owned by reclusive businessman Howard Hughes in the mid-1960s. Today, The Venetian stands where the Sands once stood.

Its most famous claim to fame was a three-week period in 1960 when, during the filming of Ocean's Eleven, they organized an event in the Copa Room called the "Summit at the Sands", where for the first time Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford performed on stage together. They would forever be known after that as the Rat Pack. Sinatra would also own a stake in the Sands for a time.