Before the Wynn Las Vegas opened in April 2005, the site was home to the legendary Desert Inn. The Desert Inn (often called "the D.I.") opened in 1950 and was one of the most iconic resorts on the Las Vegas Strip for half a century. It was famously purchased by billionaire Howard Hughes in 1967 after he was asked to vacate his penthouse suite; he chose to buy the entire hotel instead. Steve Wynn purchased the Desert Inn in 2000 as a birthday present for his wife, Elaine, for approximately $270 million. He closed the resort shortly thereafter to clear the land for his new flagship project. The Desert Inn’s famous Augusta Tower was imploded in 2001, and the remaining structures were cleared to make way for the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas. One piece of the Desert Inn that Steve Wynn chose to keep and heavily renovate was its 18-hole championship golf course, which was integrated into the new resort’s design, making it the only golf course remaining on the Las Vegas Strip for many years until the addition of the Encore Boston Harbor and other later developments.