November, 2002 - Page 2

One of the most visible things they've done so far is remove the portecochere that used to be over the front doors. Back in the 70's when it was built, the valet parking was out in the front, under the portecochere. Eventually, because of the rise in traffic, it outgrew the little tiny driveway in the front and the valet parking was moved around to the side. And now, their plan is to build a new, 21st century portecochere on the side of the building. So this one has to come down.

They brought in a big dog crane to lift it out of there. Space was so tight that they had to close a couple of lanes of the highway to move it in there.

They strapped in the portecochere and unbolted it from its columns.

They left it sitting like this for a couple of days, maybe to make sure everything was unbolted, unwelded, and ready to go.

In the middle of the night, they yanked it out of there, leaving a big gaping hole in the side of the building.

Just removing this canopy made such a huge difference in the look of the casino.

The right half looks like it's open, the left half looks like a war zone.

Keep on plugging!