The Sands was open from 1952-1996
It was, of course, best known for being the playground for "The Rat Pack" for several weeks in 1960 while the original "Ocean's Eleven" movie was being filmed. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. were the hottest ticket in town, playing to celebrity packed audiences. They'd film all day, do the show at night, and after the show you would often see one or more of them in the casino, maybe playing but just as likely to be dealing...and when they were dealing, the players always won!

The Sands in 1953

Poolside slots in 1953...are those kids in the pool hanging around a gaming area? naughty, naughty!

No idea what year this was, but I like the shot

A few items

The story that we've heard is that every New Year's eve The Sands had a party. Invited guests would receive a velveteen bag filled with 20 (or 25?) silver dollars. Our bag is from 1966. Of course we have several Sands mugs...

Here's further info on Dean at the Sands...
http://library.nevada.edu/speccol/dino/index.html

And Howard Hughes in Las Vegas... enjoy!