The 60-pound Golden Nugget in Las Vegas
The Hand of Faith is a famous gold nugget discovered in 1980 by Kevin Hillier with a metal detector near Kingower, a small town in Victoria, Australia. The nugget weighs 27.21 kilograms (60 pounds) and is the largest gold nugget ever found with a metal detector.
After its discovery, the Hand of Faith was sold several times before being purchased by the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1981 for over a million dollars. The casino's owner, Steve Wynn, put the nugget on display in the lobby of the Golden Nugget for several years, where it became a popular tourist attraction.
In 2007, the Golden Nugget Casino was sold to Landry's, Inc., a hospitality and entertainment company owned by businessman Tilman Fertitta. The Hand of Faith is still on display at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas today, and visitors can see it for themselves in the casino's Gold Tower lobby.
During my Fremont Street Downtown Walking tours we also stop by the Hand of Faith Golden Nugget. While you take your fill of pictures and selfies of 60 pounds of solid gold, I tell the fascinating story of how Kevin Hillier originally found the treasure. Mobsters -singers - gamblers and shills all molded Las Vegas into what she is today. Listen to the stories others never hear. See the things others never see.