In 1966, the Central Teamsters Pension Fund provided a $5.5 million construction loan to finish the project, with ownership transferred to a group of investors that included Caroll and his wife.

[43] By that time, many stores in the Landmark Plaza had closed due to falling debris that included welding sparks, steel, tools, rivets, and cement.

[48] The Aluminium Division of Apex Steel Corporation Limited was contracted to install a $40,000 aluminum undershine on the tower's dome, to provide a maintenance-free and clean-looking appearance for viewers on the ground.

The Carolls sought to halt the sale, and filed a $2.1 million damage suit against ABCC, alleging that the company stopped construction and refused to pay the contractors.

[84] In late August 1968, the Las Vegas-based Supreme Mattress Company filed a lawsuit stating that it had only received $4,250 in payments for $25,505 worth of bedding material that was sold to the Landmark in December 1967.

Simultaneously, Sylvania Electric Company had intended to foreclose on the property because of an unpaid $3.7 million bill relating to electronic equipment installed in the Landmark.

[86][87] On the night of August 2, 1968, Everett Wayne Shaw, a 39-year-old mechanic depressed by the break-up of his month-long marriage, stole a Cessna 180 plane as part of an apparent suicide attempt.

[94] By December 1968, negotiations were underway with several interested firms, including a $20 million offer from Tanger Industries, a holding company based in El Monte, California.

[27] Hughes spent approximately $3 million to give the interior a lavish design and to add other touches to the resort,[44][103] while the exterior of the Landmark buildings was left unchanged.

[7][110][111] On June 30, 1969, Sun Realty appealed the decision but was denied that day as it was unable to post a bond that would pay the $5.8 million worth of claims, filed by approximately 120 other creditors after Plaza Towers Inc. entered bankruptcy.

[117][116] Other guests included Cary Grant, Dean Martin, Jimmy Webb, Phil Harris, Tony Bennett, Sammy Cahn, Steve and Eydie, and Wilt Chamberlain.

[119][120] A closed-circuit television camera filmed the festivities in the Landmark on opening night, with the footage being shown live to guests at Hughes' other hotels, the Sands and the Frontier.

Scott planned to take over operations once the sale received approval from Summa, county and state gaming officials, and courts that were handling Hughes' estate.

The investment group had yet to apply for gaming and liquor licenses, and the Summa Corporation declined to continue operating the casino, citing a lack of interest.

[125] Federal investigators shut down Wolfram's firm on February 7, 1983, after they discovered $36 million of money missing in six accounts that were managed by him and his wife, ultimately leading to the discovery of his embezzlement.

[177][178] The expansion designed by Stern was cancelled,[174] and Ed Wolfram was convicted of embezzling later that year, after admitting to using money from his firm to pay for various businesses ventures, with the Landmark being the most expensive.

[176] The Landmark was entangled in a Toledo bankruptcy court in July 1983, at which point Bill Morris, a Las Vegas lawyer, made plans to purchase the resort.

[125][179] Morris, also a member of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), had previously owned the Holiday Inn Center Strip hotel-casino, as well as the Riverside Resort in nearby Laughlin.

[181] The Nevada Gaming Control Board delayed approval of Morris' purchase until his offer could be updated to include what Zula Wolfram owed to Summa.

"[9] He intended to capitalize on the resort's location with a planned expansion that would feature three 15-story towers with 1,500 hotel rooms, accompanied by a large domed family entertainment center.

On July 29, 1985, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filed a $2.1 million lien against the property, because of Morris' failure to pay withholding and payroll taxes for the resort's employees for the previous six months.

[202] A week after the closure, Davis received permission from the U.S. bankruptcy court to abandon the property as trustee, due to the cost of maintaining security at the closed resort.

[212] By February 1995, AB-Haz had twice declared the Landmark to be asbestos-free and safe for demolition, although Clark County officials discovered that some hotel floors still contained 90 percent of the asbestos.

[218] In October 1995, LVCVA paid Iconco Inc. $740,000 to remove remaining asbestos from the resort, hoping to have it demolished in time for ConExpo to be held on the property's new parking lot in March 1996.

[74] The interior included $200,000 light fixtures,[122] glowing, red-colored Incan masks, and a burnished metal wall sculpture representing a Cape Kennedy launch.

Other plans included changes to the coffee shop, new casino carpeting, and redesigning and renaming the 27th-floor restaurant as Anthony's Seafood and Prime Rib Room.

[244] In 1993, architecture critic Alan Hess noted the simplicity of the Landmark and the nearby International Hotel when compared with previous Las Vegas casinos, writing, "As singular, self-contained forms, they showed none of the complexity of the different pieces and sequential additions that made the original Strip visually and urbanistically richer.

[247][248] In its early years, the Landmark became well known for its performances by country singers, including Kay Starr, Jimmy Dean, Patti Page, Bobbie Gentry, and Danny Davis with his Nashville Brass band, as well as a four-week show starring Ferlin Husky and Archie Campbell.

[256] Other artists who performed in Country Music USA included Barbara Fairchild, Johnny Paycheck and Tommy Overstreet,[257] as well as Jody Miller, Roy Head, and Hank Thompson.

[282] A near-exact replica of the Landmark called the Bikini Atoll Casino can be seen in the Saints Row (2022) reboot, in the El Dorado district (which is based on the Las Vegas Strip) of Santo Ileso.