<P> Actor J. Carlton Adair conceived Lake Las Vegas around 1967 as Lake Adair . At the time he purchased the land and water rights . In 1987, Ronald Boeddeker acquired 2,000 acres (810 ha) from the US Government when Adair went bankrupt . </P> <P> The property was acquired by Transcontinental Properties in 1990 . In 1995, Henry Gluck, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caesars World, became the co-Chairman of Transcontinental Properties . With Sid Bass and Lee Bass, two billionaires from Fort Worth, Texas, he developed the new community . The project cost US $5 billion . </P> <P> The lake was built on top of the Las Vegas Wash, which continues to flow under the lake in two 96 - inch (2.4 m) diameter pipes . Water diversion to fill the lake began in 1990 . The lake was filled with 3 billion US gallons (11,000,000 m) of water . </P> <P> Lake at Las Vegas Joint Venture, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 17, 2008 . Debts were estimated at between $500 million and $1 billion . </P>

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