The excitement of the implosion is over and now the massive clean-up effort begins before the old Stardust property is turned into the $ 4 billion Echelon resort.

The legendary Stardust hotel tower on the Las Vegas Strip was brought down by implosion early Tuesday morning.

There was a hail of fireworks before the 2:34 a.m. implosion. At 32 stories, it was the tallest structure to ever be imploded on the Las Vegas Strip.

It took 428 pounds of explosives to bring down the tower and less than 10 seconds for the building to fall. The final result was 170,000 tons of debris and a lot of dust.

The Stardust closed in November of 2006 after 48 years on the Las Vegas Strip. It will be replaced by a multi-billion-dollar resort called Echelon Place.

In recent days, many people have come by the Stardust to say goodbye — from longtime employees to patrons.

It was a final farewell to yet another part of old Vegas, an end of an era.

It was one of Las Vegas‘ most iconic casinos. The bright lights of the Stardust glowed on the Strip for nearly 50 years.

Longtime patron Bill Rabatin hates to see the Stardust go. He remembers those days and nights in the poker room. „It was great. Good food, good service. We have been [there] many, many times, and we’re going to miss the place.“

The Stardust is rich with history.

• It opened in 1958 at the beginning of the space age complete with rockets catering to middle class America.
• More than 19 million people saw the Lido de Paris extravaganza over five decades.
• Boxing legend Muhammad Ali trained there.
• Elvis would come in with his entourage.
• Ed Sullivan broadcast his show from the Stardust on CBS in 1962.
• Siegfried and Roy had a run in the Stardust showroom.
• And in the early ’60s, the Stardust Invitational drew national attention in the old rotunda of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The list goes on and on. But the glitz and glamour of yesteryear will be brought down to make way for the luxury of five unique hotels in a development called Echelon Place.