Bonanza Gift Shop Explained

Bonanza Gift Shop
Location:Paradise, Nevada, United States
Coordinates:36.1442°N -115.1579°W
Floors:1

Bonanza Gift Shop is a landmark located on the Las Vegas Strip between the Sahara Las Vegas and the Stratosphere Las Vegas. It is billed as the World's Largest Gift Shop with over 40000square feet of shopping space.

According to British Airways, the shop "won't let you down when looking for the perfect souvenir."[1] However Fodor's says "Ok, so it may not, in fact, be the world's largest, but it's the city's largest—and for that matter, the city's best—souvenir store."[2]

History

Bonanza Gifts was established in 1980.[3] Before Bonanza, the corner mall contained several smaller shops and casinos.

Former casino occupants at the location included: Honest John's (c. 1963-1981), Big Wheel Casino (c. 1971-1977, renamed Centerfold Casino in 1975), and Jolly Trolley (c. 1977-1981).[4] [5] Jolly Trolley was reportedly secretly owned by reputed mafia boss Anthony Russo.[6] Bonanza's website also lists Jackpot Casino and Money Tree Casino as also previously occupying the site.[7]

It was the Las Vegas Review-Journals online readers pick for Best Gift Shop in 2006.[8]

In 2016, the property was sold for $50 million to Haim Gabay, who had been operating the store as a tenant for a year.[9]

Film history

The shop was featured on the PBS show Going Places.[10] This store features in the 2016 Nicolas Cage movie The Trust.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Shopping in Las Vegas. British Airways. 27 July 2011.
  2. Web site: Bonanza "World's Largest Gift Shop": Review. Fodor's Travel Intelligence. 27 July 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101027183710/http://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/nevada/las-vegas/review-140004.html. 27 October 2010.
  3. https://bonanza-gift-shop.weeblyte.com/about About Bonanza Gift Shop
  4. https://vegasnowandthen.blogspot.com/2010/05/history-of-shopping-center-casino.html History of a Shopping Center Casino 1963-1981
  5. https://vintagelasvegas.com/post/108931941179/honest-johns-jolly-trolley-casino-las-vegas Vintage Las Vegas
  6. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/13/Former-casino-head-says-he-paid-Russo-out-of-fear/1125371793600/ Former casino head says he paid Russo out of fear
  7. https://bonanza-gift-shop.weeblyte.com/about About Bonanza Gift Shop
  8. http://www.reviewjournal.com/bestoflv/2006/ShortReturns.jsp?bestID=8734 Best Gift Shop
  9. News: Bonanza Gift Shop in Las Vegas sold for $50M, records show. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Eli Segall. October 24, 2016. 2016-10-25.
  10. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/goingplaces2/las_vegas/interviews.html Going Places Las Vegas