Casino De Paris Las Vegas Pop Art Program Cover Dunes Hotel

In 1963 The Dunes Hotel opened an American version of the famed Casino de Paris, marking the first time the show was to play outside Paris. Casino de Paris, conceived, produced and directed by Frederic Apcar and staged and choreographed by Ron Lewis, cost $2 million and had a cast of 100. The spectacular also brought in the incredible "Octuramic" stage, a 65 ton engineering masterpiece that moved out into the audience. The noted French singer Line Renaud was one of many artists who performed on stage, surrounded by dozens of dancers and showgirls clothed in the creations of designer Jose Luis Vinas. Like the successful Lido de Paris at the Stardust, the show introduced many stage effects that Las Vegas had not seen before, including the imposing "octuramic" stage that projected out into the audience. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Dunes experienced several changes in ownership and struggled with financial difficulties throughout the 1980s. The closing of the Casino de Paris show in 1981 diminished the hotel's at