Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino
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| Barbary Coast | |
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| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Address | 3595 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89109 |
| Opening date | March, 1979 |
| Previous names | None |
| Closing date | February 27, 2007 |
| Casino type | Land-Based |
| Theme | 1890s San Francisco |
| Owner | Boyd Gaming Corporation |
| No. of rooms | 197 |
| Total gaming space | 30,000 square feet |
| Permanent shows | Free lounge entertainment |
| Signature attractions | Big Elvis, a 600+ pound Elvis impersonator |
| Notable restaurants | Drai's Michael's The Victorian Room |
| Years renovated | 2001 |
| Website | barbarycoastcasino.com |
The Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino was a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada owned and operated by Boyd Gaming Corporation. With only 196 rooms, it was one of the smaller properties on the Strip sitting on only 4.3 acres of land.[1] With its old wood and stained glass interior, it was one of the few establishments on the Strip to offer the feeling of the old Las Vegas. The property was sold to Harrah's Entertainment in 2007 and renamed to Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon.
[edit] History
The casino was built by Michael Gaughan and it opened in March of 1979 at a cost of $11.5 million. Over time, this property, along with others owned by Gaughan would become Coast Casinos Inc.[1]
Michael Gaughan shared partnership in the Barbary Coast and all other coast property casinos, with Kenny Epstein, Tito Tiberti, Frank Toti and Jerry Herbst.
The Flaming Lips' "Halloween on the Barbary Coast" from Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992) was written after the band was kicked out of Caesars Palace due to a lack of personal hygiene. The motley bunch ventured across Las Vegas Boulevard to Barbary Coast where striking hotel employees heckled them, told them crossing a picket line was 'un-American' and declared over a mega phone "Look everybody ... It's Halloween on the Barbary Coast!"[citation needed]
On February 9, 2004, Boyd Gaming announced that they would purchase Coast Casinos, a Las Vegas locals casino brand, for $820 million. The hotels included in this deal were the Barbary Coast, the Gold Coast, the Suncoast, the Orleans, and the South Coast, which was under construction at the time. The buyout was complete on July 1, 2005 at a cost of $1.2 billion.
On September 6, 2005, Boyd Gaming purchased the 4.3 acres (17,000 m²) of land under the hotel for $16 million. The hotel had been leasing the land prior to this point.
On October 2, 2006, Boyd Gaming announced plans to swap their Barbary Coast hotel for Harrah's Entertainment's 24-acre parcel on and around the site of the former Westward Ho next to Boyd's Stardust. With the Westward Ho parcel, Boyd would have 87 contiguous acres on the Strip to complete their Echelon Place resort, the replacement for their Stardust property [2].
On February 7, 2007, the Nevada Gaming Control Board gave approval to the plan for Boyd Gaming to swap the Barbary Coast with Harrah's 24-acre site next door to Boyd's Stardust property [3].
The Barbary Coast casino was closed at 2AM on February 27, 2007 after the acquisition was finalized. The hotel and casino were rebranded as Bill's Gamblin Hall and Saloon, in honor of Harrah's founder Bill Harrah, and reopened March 1, 2007 under Harrah's ownership [4].
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ward, Matt. "Gaughan are the days ...", Las Vegas Business Press, 2007-02-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ Las Vegas Review-Journal October 3, 2006
- ^ Las Vegas Review-Journal February 8, 2007
- ^ Press Release March 1, 2007
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