Bob Stupak | Las Vegas developer, 67

Bob Stupak, 67, a colorful gambler and the developer of the 1,149-foot Stratosphere tower on the Las Vegas Strip, died Friday after a long fight with leukemia.

Mr. Stupak, known for outlandish promotions, opened the $550 million Stratosphere hotel-casino in 1996 in hopes that the tower would attract millions of visitors to Las Vegas.

The tower was conceived in 1990 as a way to promote the Stratosphere's predecessor, Mr. Stupak's Vegas World casino.

The Stratosphere filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and it was eventually taken over by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Born in Pittsburgh, Mr. Stupak moved to Las Vegas in 1971 and in 1974 opened Bob Stupak's World Famous Historic Gambling Museum at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue.

Mr. Stupak, who called himself the "Polish Maverick," was officially named "Mr. Las Vegas" in 1996 by then-Mayor Jan Jones. - AP