The Rat Pack at the Sands (1960s)

1960-1965

Sands opened: December 15, 1952, at a cost of $5 million
Showroom: The Copa Room, booked by entertainment director Jack Entratter
The Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop
Summit at the Sands: January 26 to February 16, 1960
Film: Ocean's 11 (1960) was filmed at the Sands during the Summit
Sinatra's stake: Two percent of the Sands, rising to nine percent before he had to sell
Live album: Sinatra at the Sands with the Count Basie Orchestra, released 1966
Hughes purchase: Howard Hughes bought the Sands in 1967
End of the Sands: Closed June 1996 and imploded later that year
Where to see it today: The Venetian stands on the Sands site

About

The Sands opened on December 15, 1952, at a cost of $5 million, with Danny Thomas in its Copa Room and a neon sign calling it "A Place in the Sun." Its entertainment director, Jack Entratter, came from New York's Copacabana and used his connections to book the biggest names in show business. Frank Sinatra first played the Copa Room in 1953, just as his career was recovering, and the Sands became his base. He held a small ownership stake that rose to nine percent.

By the late 1950s the Sands was the Strip's most fashionable hotel, largely because of the group known as the Rat Pack, or "The Clan": Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. From January 26 to February 16, 1960, Sinatra headlined the "Summit at the Sands," a run of loose, apparently ad-libbed shows with the others and whatever celebrities turned up, including future president John F. Kennedy, Lawford's brother-in-law. By day the group filmed Ocean's 11 at the resort.

The Rat Pack also mattered beyond entertainment. In 1955 the Sands became the first Strip hotel to let a Black headliner, Nat King Cole, stay as a guest. The Online Nevada Encyclopedia credits Sinatra with pressing the Sands to let Sammy Davis Jr. stay there, and notes that Davis's starring role, at Sinatra's insistence, helped the effort to break a colour barrier that kept Black Americans out of Las Vegas casinos and hotels until 1960.

The era did not last. In 1963 Sinatra gave up his Nevada gaming license after regulators moved against him for hosting Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana at the Cal-Neva at Lake Tahoe, and the group drifted apart. Howard Hughes bought the Sands in 1967, and after a confrontation over his credit line Sinatra moved to Caesars Palace. The Sands changed hands several times, was bought by Sheldon Adelson's Interface Group in 1988, closed in June 1996 and was imploded. The Venetian opened on the site in 1999.

What to expect

The Sands is gone, and the Online Nevada Encyclopedia notes that the Venetian, opened on the site in 1999, left virtually no trace of it. The Venetian Resort today offers indoor gondola rides along its Grand Canal past the Shoppes, and seasonal outdoor rides facing the Strip; tickets can be bought online up to 60 days ahead, with same-day tickets sold in person.

Before and after

Atomic Tourism in the 1950s

Good to know

Sinatra's first Las Vegas engagement was not at the Sands but at the Desert Inn, on September 4, 1951.
The Sands' steam room, the first in Las Vegas, was built at Sinatra's request, and the group met there before shows.
Sources give different prices for Hughes's 1967 purchase of the Sands: the Online Nevada Encyclopedia's Sands article says $14.6 million, while its Howard Hughes article says $23 million.
Sinatra's final Las Vegas show was on May 29, 1994, at the MGM Grand. When he died on May 14, 1998, Strip hotels dimmed their lights in his honor.
The Venetian's builder, Sheldon Adelson, had bought the Sands in 1988 for $128 million and added the Sands Expo convention center beside it in the early 1990s.

Questions about The Rat Pack at the Sands (1960s)

Who were the Rat Pack?

In Las Vegas, the Rat Pack, sometimes called "The Clan," meant Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. They often performed together in the Sands' Copa Room in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Online Nevada Encyclopedia says the name came from Lauren Bacall, describing the friends who gathered around Humphrey Bogart.

What was the Summit at the Sands?

From January 26 to February 16, 1960, Frank Sinatra headlined a run of shows in the Sands' Copa Room with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, mixing songs with apparent ad-libs and mischief. John F. Kennedy attended. During the day the group filmed Ocean's 11 at the resort, and the shows became the hottest ticket in town.

Can you still visit the Sands Hotel?

No. The Sands closed in June 1996 and was imploded later that year. Sheldon Adelson built the Venetian on the site, opening it in 1999. The Online Nevada Encyclopedia says the Venetian left virtually no trace of the old Sands, so there is no Rat Pack showroom or original building to tour.

How did the Rat Pack affect civil rights in Las Vegas?

Las Vegas hotels largely excluded Black guests in the 1950s, even Black headliners. The Sands let Nat King Cole stay as a guest in 1955, and Sinatra reportedly pressed management to let Sammy Davis Jr. stay there. The Online Nevada Encyclopedia says Davis's starring role helped break the colour barrier that lasted in Las Vegas until 1960.

Did Frank Sinatra own part of the Sands?

Yes. According to the Online Nevada Encyclopedia, Sinatra held a two percent interest in the Sands that grew to nine percent before he had to sell it. Dean Martin also held shares. The encyclopedia notes evidence that they may have been fronts for investors state regulators would never have licensed.