SAHARA FIRE, ‘HONEYMOON IN VEGAS’ AND MICHAEL JORDAN’S WEDDING
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August 26, 1964: Just one day after a fire causes $1 million in damage, the Sahara Hotel reopens with its giant marquee proclaiming, “Visit The Hottest Casino In Town.” Buddy Hackett and Buddy Greco are the headliners.
August 27, 1996: Greg Morris, the brainy technician on TV’s Mission Impossible, is found dead at his Las Vegas apartment. The 61-year-old actor, whose son Phil played wacky lawyer Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, died of cancer.
August 28, 1992: Honeymoon in Vegas, a romantic comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, opens. The dramatic highlight features a jumpsuit-clad Cage skydiving into Las Vegas with the “Flying Elvises” to get his girl back. The film earns $35 million.
August 29, 2009: On what would have been his 51st birthday, Michael Jackson receives a star on the Palms Walk of Fame as fans and his father Joe look on. The honor was to have been bestowed after Jackson's “This Is It” tour starts in London, but he died in June just before launching the tour.
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August 30, 1984: Stuntman Dan Koko jumps 326 feet from the top of Vegas World Hotel, ripping his jumpsuit but emerging from the 20-foot-deep airbag unscathed. He earns $1 million in cash from owner Bob Stupak for the record-setting plunge.
August 31, 1989: Moe Dalitz, a prominent Las Vegas casino owner, philanthropist, and frequently accused – but never convicted – mobster, dies at home at 89. Contrary to many predictions over the years, the good friend of Mafia kingpin Meyer Lansky passes away of natural causes.
September 1, 2009: Justin Timberlake surprises partygoers at the Lavo club at the Palazzo and buys a round of his new 901 tequila for everyone in the house. He named the tequila after the area code of Memphis, his hometown.
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September 2, 1989: Basketball star Michael Jordan marries Juanita Vanoy, who had threatened him with a paternity suit over their 10-month-old son, at 3:30 a.m. at the Little White Chapel. After years of rumors about marital problems and infidelity, they divorce in 2006.
—Researched and written by Mike Precker