Jay Sarno built Caesars Palace Casino in 1965 with money he made from a chain of “cabana” motels. After considering many different themes, Sarno chose to model his hotel based on Roman culture to create a royal atmosphere for guests. Sarno paid attention to every detail when designing the hotel, even going as far as taking the possessive apostrophe out of “Caesar’s” to give the visitors a sense of ownership.

The completed hotel cost $19 million and stood fourteen stories tall with 700 rooms. The opening ceremony took place on August 5, 1966, which included a performance staring Phil Richards and Andy Williams, who played the role of Caesar. Large fountains, statues of Roman gods and an official Cleopatra greeted guests as they entered. Since its opening the hotel has housed many memorable events and performances by some of the top names in entertainment. The fountain received national attention after stunt master Evel Knievels’ famous failed attempt to jump over it put him in a coma for 29 days, but his son successfully made the jump years later.

In the beginning years of the hotel rumors circulated that Sarno used money from members of organized crime to finance the construction of the hotel. However, government investigations found no wrong doing after Sarno sold the property to Stuart and Clifford S. Perlman, founders of Lums restaurants, in 1969.

The Perlman brothers buried a time capsule to celebrate the history of the hotel, but it was stolen days later. In the following years multiple companies have purchased Caesars, including the ITT Sheraton and Hilton. The various owners have constructed additions to the hotel such as the Palace Tower and Colosseum, with plans to build more. Today, Caesars Entertainment owns and operates Caesars Palace.