No one year in Landmark’s history has contained more perils and pitfalls than 1977. It started with a layoff of thirty dealers in February due to financial cutbacks as the hotel continued to bleed revenue.²³ The death of Hughes made things both better and worse as new executives now had the power to make changes, which Hughes alone could do before. While irritating to board members, Landmark’s shortcomings meant little to Hughes, who did virtually nothing to turn the struggling hotel around. He was seemingly content to allow it to exist regardless of the burden it placed on his company. That would soon change in the Summa years as tragedy lurked around the corner.

Shortly after 4 a.m. on July 15^th, a water pipe burst in the sub-basement of the tower. A two-foot flood of water shorted out the main power panel, cutting off electricity to the entire hotel. An auxiliary generator kicked in, but telephones, air conditioning, and all but one elevator remained inoperative.²⁴ A faulty exhaust line on one of the generators sent deadly carbon monoxide through the air conditioning system. The line had been installed when the tower was first built.²⁵ The hotel was evacuated, and guests were treated by local hospitals or transferred to other Summa properties. Many guests were sleeping at the time and were found unconscious still in their rooms, so they were admitted to hospitals as John Doe I, John Doe II, etc.²⁶ Power was restored at 9:30 a.m., and the hotel began accepting guests. However, this was short-lived, as power was lost again at 2:30 p.m. During this second outage, a couple was trapped in an elevator for a short time. Frank Gulla, a 55-year-old New York resident, was the sole casualty; 138 others were injured.²⁷

During the incident, Summa-owned KLAS-TV reporter Chuck Moshontz and photographer Eric Bock were attacked by Landmark guards as they attempted to interview Fire Chief Leroy Hawks.²⁸ Bock stated guards jumped them with clubs and flashlights in the lobby. “We couldn’t get out fast enough. We were trying to leave, but they kept on beating and shoving us.”²⁹ Other reporters on the scene, from KORK-TV and KSHO-TV, were left alone. A source close to Summa Corp stated, “Orders to kick out the KLAS-TV crew came from the top echelon in the hotel. Other news media were not to be bothered.”³⁰ It was speculated that Landmark management was unhappy with KLAS-TV’s negative coverage of the hotel, including a rumor that the hotel was being sold to an Arab investor. A $37,000 camera recording unit was damaged in the altercation.³¹

Following Merrill-Lynch’s advice, Summa began searching for a buyer for the Landmark in October 1977. Several people came forward with offers to purchase the struggling property:

• Nick Lardakis, an Ohio tavern owner, entered negotiations to purchase the Landmark for a reported $12 million; it was later rejected when he could not come up with the money.³²
• Frank Scott and Jackie Gaughan, owners of Union Plaza and El Cortez, negotiated with Summa for a reported $10 million through their Scott Corp. holding.³³
• A Chicago, Illinois, group of physicians and attorneys who operated fast food outlets, hospitals, and clinics in the Midwest and a Las Vegas art dealer made a $12 million cash bid for the hotel. A spokesman for the group claimed Summa gaming chief Phil Hannifin stated that he would close Landmark down if it were not sold within a month; this statement was never confirmed.³⁴
• JoAnn Seigal, a Las Vegas mining heiress, offered a bid of $12 million but complained that Summa would not provide her with an appraisal on which to base negotiations.³⁵
• Charles Fink, a Beverly Hills management consultant for Acro Management Consultants, offered $16 million.³⁶ He had been staying at the Landmark during the negotiations but checked out on October 19^th after the Summa board failed to decide on the sale. Summa stated they considered the bid more of an inquiry than an offer.³⁷
• James Dumont, a Pennsylvanian native, offered $13.5 million under the guise of Sheik Gamal Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Kuwait. District Court Judge Keith Hayes discovered Dumont’s ruse upon learning that he only drew an annual income of 13,000 from a military pension after serving in the Army. The bid had already been rejected because “The Sheik,” as he would become known, missed the deadline.³⁸

Amid these negotiations, another disaster struck. A two-alarm fire broke out on October 23^rd, on the 22^nd floor in room 2203 at 3:33 p.m.³⁹ Club 27 bartender Richard N. Drake smelled smoke and reported it to security, while craps dealer Joe Sobb reported yellow smoke pouring out of elevator shafts and into the casino. The hotel was evacuated for two hours while firefighters went in to secure the building. Clark County Fire Captain George Watts led the first team inside. “When we first got up there we couldn’t see anything because of the heavy smoke,” he said. “The mattress, the furniture, the whole room was burning.”⁴⁰ The damage was limited to room 2203, with moderate smoke damage on floors 22 through 27. It was determined that a cigarette was the cause of the blaze.⁴¹

During the summer of 1977, popular novelty band The Goofers recorded a live album in the Landmark’s lounge. The tower was featured on the cover of the LP along with Summa Corporation’s General Manager of Entertainment, Walter Kane. It included covers of many popular hits from the previous twenty years, including “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree,” “A Fifth Of Beethoven,” “I’ve Got The Music In Me,” “Rhapsody In Blue,” “Volare,” and “When The Saints Go Marching In.”

While still in talks for sale on January 9^th, 1978, Summa announced that if they kept the property, they would add sixteen tennis courts to the Landmark.⁴² This was short-lived, however, as it was announced just three days later that they had accepted Scott Corp.’s offer to purchase the hotel. Scott stated they would be renaming the property, with ‘The Tower Plaza Hotel’ being the front-running choice, should the sale go through.⁴³ A judge monitoring the Hughes estate rejected the sale because the other groups made higher offers.⁴⁴