The site included various amusement rides and a replica of Las Vegas' Old Mormon Fort, which contained the Hondo Casino.

In January 1975, the Henderson City Council unanimously approved plans for Old Vegas,[2] a 124-acre (50 ha)[3] American Old West project that would be built along Boulder Highway.

The project would be developed by a group that also owned Arizona's Old Tucson theme park and was led by Robert Shelton.

[8] The western theme park and film studio was designed by Shelton with architecture firm Wells, Tate and Kennedy.

The project was master planned by Dallas-based LARC[9] (Leisure and Recreation Concepts)[10] with Robert L. Smith Construction as the general contractor.

Future plans for the remaining 69 acres included a resort ranch, a motel, a camp site, and an apartment complex, all of which would be built after Old Vegas generated the necessary funds.

The fort also included the Hondo Cantina, featuring a first-floor saloon and steakhouse, and a 225-seat banquet room on the second floor.

[16] Additionally, the fort included the 300-seat Commandant's Theatre, which showed visitors a film presentation narrated by Dale Robertson, depicting the history of the local area.

[31][32] That month, the directors of Old Tucson Corporation agreed to sell a majority of the company's shares to Burt Sugarman, a Los Angeles television producer; and Gabriel Alarcon Jr., a Mexico City industrialist.

[33][34] Old Vegas was temporarily closed on March 13, 1979,[34][35] to undergo alterations for a planned reopening the following month under the name Westworld.

Also considered was the showing of approximately nine hours of Priscilla Presley's home movies of her husband Elvis that had never been shown to the public.

[43][44] At the end of the month, Alarcon was denied a gaming license as state investigators could not satisfactorily trace the source of his money, due to Mexico's different accounting procedures.

[41] By 1980, Old Vegas included two restaurants and a casino, and there were plans to rebuild the Paramount Pictures western street adjacent to the park's Old Mormon Fort.

The second phase would include a railroad museum and other historic exhibits, as well as the Wagon Camp picnic and barbecue areas.

[49] Part of the second phase was the Eureka Locomotive, which went on permanent display at Old Vegas,[49][48][50] along with Virginia and Truckee Railroad equipment.

The third phase, consisting of a western street and additional rides, was scheduled to begin construction in December or January.

[52] Nearby residents subsequently complained about noise coming from the park, including music, simulated gun fights, and late-night fireworks.

[55] To raise revenue, Westworld Inc. attempted to sell land surrounding Old Vegas, but had ruled out a sale of the park for the time being.

A police detective stated that the fire was not started naturally and likely was not due to an electrical issue; arson was considered a possibility.

[61] Westworld Inc. chose to close the park on July 1, 1986, to install the fire sprinkler system and conduct other remodeling.

[61][62] However, later in July, Westworld Inc. instead put the closed theme park and the entire 125-acre property up for sale at a price of $5.6 million.

[59][63] At the time of the closure, the Henderson Home News stated, "Park managers have kept Old Vegas' local profile very low and seem to only actively recruit bus tour and other visitor-related customers.

[72] Focus 2000, formerly MarCor Development, announced plans in July 1992 to refurbish and reopen Old Vegas, including the fort and its restaurant and casino.

[21][77] In June 1993, Focus 2000 proposed a master plan for the Old Vegas site consisting of three hotel-casinos and an RV park.

[84] That year, Rio Hotel and Casino Inc.[85] purchased 60 acres of the site as a partner, as part of a strategic growth plan by the company.

[87] During 1997, at a cost of $30 million, Focus 2000 put the Old Vegas property up for sale as the potential site of a future casino project.

[85] Flying J was interested in building the truck stop, which was opposed by nearby residents who believed that such a business would be a nuisance.

[1][89] In 2001, the Henderson planning commission and city council approved D. R. Horton to construct a 631-unit housing subdivision on the site.