The D Las Vegas
| The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Address | 301 Fremont Street |
| Opening date | 1979 |
| Number of rooms | 638 |
| Total gaming space | 42,000 sq ft (3,900 m2) |
| Casino type | Land |
| Owner |
Derek Stevens (78%) Greg Stevens (22%) |
| Previous names |
Sundance Hotel Fitzgeralds Hotel & Casino |
| Renovated in | 1979, 2012 |
| Coordinates | 36°10′15″N 115°8′35″W / 36.17083°N 115.14306°WCoordinates: 36°10′15″N 115°8′35″W / 36.17083°N 115.14306°W |
| Website | The D Las Vegas |
The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel is a 34-story, 638-room hotel and casino in Downtown Las Vegas Nevada, owned and operated by Derek and Greg Stevens. The hotel is affiliated with Lexington by Vantage.[5]
The D is located at the eastern end of the Fremont Street Experience. It has a 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) casino, several restaurants, a business center, a pool and spa, and a race and sports book, operated by Lucky's Race & Sports Book. The casino now has more than 1,000 slot machines and 22 table games located on two floors.
As Fitzgeralds, it had a "luck of the Irish" theme, with shamrocks and a leprechaun. In Fall 2012, The D completed a property-wide renovation and rebranding to replace the Irish theme with a more modern feel.[6]
History
The Sundance Hotel opened in 1980 on land owned by Moe Dalitz. Dalitz, an organized crime figure tied to the Chicago Outfit, faced difficulty from the Gaming Commission, so the casino was nominally run by his associates, Al Sachs and Herb Tobman, who also owned the Stardust and Fremont casinos.[7]
In 1983, Sachs and Tobman faced suspension of their gaming licenses due to charges of skimming. Dalitz applied to manage the Sundance himself, but the Gaming Commission stalled on his application, until July 1984, when he agreed to surrender management to Jackie Gaughan until the casino could be sold. Finally, in 1987, the Sundance was sold to Lincoln Management Group (later Fitzgeralds Gaming) and renamed as Fitzgeralds Las Vegas.[7]
In December 2001, with Fitzgeralds Gaming in bankruptcy, The Majestic Star Casino, LLC, owned by Don Barden, bought the property, along with two other Fitzgeralds casinos in Colorado and Mississippi, for a total of $149 million.[8] At that point, Barden became the first African American casino owner in Las Vegas.[9] Barden separated Fitzgeralds Las Vegas from the Majestic Star umbrella two years later, to free it from restrictions imposed by the company's lenders.[10]
In May 2008, it was reported that Barden was pledging the property to generate a $35-million equity stake in a slots-only casino in Pittsburgh, making a sale likely for Fitzgeralds Las Vegas.[11] It was subsequently reported, however, that Barden had no need to sell Fitzgeralds to maintain a stake in the slots-only casino in Pittsburgh and that it would remain an asset which he could use to generate cash for his struggling gambling portfolio.[12]
In October 2011, several months after Barden's death, his estate sold Fitzgeralds to brothers Derek and Greg Stevens, majority owners of the Golden Gate casino.[13] Derek took a 78% ownership share, with 22% for Greg.[14]
The new owners completed a $22 million renovation and rebranding to become the D Las Vegas in Fall 2012.[15] the D Las Vegas Casino Hotel stands for "downtown", and also refers to Derek Stevens' nickname, and the Stevens' hometown of Detroit.[16] The remodel gave the property a more modern feel, except for the second-floor casino, which has a "vintage Vegas" theme with retro coin-operated games including one of the only operational Sigma Derby games in Las Vegas.[17]
The multi-million dollar renovation upgraded all of the guest rooms and created luxury suites. The D also added a fine Italian Steakhouse, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Grill,[17] and opened the first American Coney Island[18] outside of Michigan on the building’s Fremont Street frontage. The property also features three distinct bars: LONGBAR,[19] the longest bar in Nevada; D Bar – a permanent outdoor bar on Fremont Street Experience featuring flair bartenders;[5] and Vue Bar inside the second floor casino.[20] The property's Fremont Street façade was enhanced with the addition of an exterior escalator and interactive video exhibition created by former Cirque du Soleil producer Roger Parent, which together feature more than 40 giant flat-screen monitors combined with hundreds of feet of LED signage.[21] Parent is also responsible for the casino's interior escalator which uses LED technology and music depicting vintage imagery to transport guests to the vintage second-floor casino.[22]
In 2013, the D expanded into hosting martial arts events as the venue will be hosting Lion Fight 11, a Muay Thai Tournament. The main event will feature a match between Tetsuya Yamato, former WBC Muay Thai Japan Champion, and Kevin Ross, an American Muay Thai boxer. In addition, Lion Fight 11 will be featured on AXS TV, a company founded by Mark Cuban.
References
- ↑ The D Las Vegas at CTBUH Skyscraper Database
- ↑ The D Las Vegas at Emporis
- ↑ The D Las Vegas at SkyscraperPage
- ↑ The D Las Vegas at Structurae
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4060234.html
- ↑ The D Las Vegas Reveals its New Look- abc13 news (2012) http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/173676061.html Renovations at the D Las Vegas- Las Vegas Sun News (2012) http://www.lasvegassun.com/photos/galleries/2012/oct/10/1009DRooms/#axzz2Y0Su4QR4
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Michael Newton (2009). Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz. McFarland. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-0-7864-3516-6. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ↑ "Detroiter Builds Out-Of-State Casino Empire". Casino City Times. 21 April 2002. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ↑ "Don Barden, The New Black Face Of Vegas". Retrieved 2008-03-05.
- ↑ Benston, Liz (13 November 2003). "Fitzgeralds’ loss widens on occupancy weakness". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ↑ Benjamin Spillman (7 May 2008). "'For sale' sign could be headed for Fitzgeralds". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
- ↑ Benjamin Spillman (12 July 2008). "Fitz off the market for now". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
- ↑ McGarry, Caitlin (29 October 2011). "Fitzgerald's new owners plan makeover, new name". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ↑ Ryan, Cy (20 October 2011). "Stevens brothers get approval of Fitzgeralds purchase, say they’re planning upgrades". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ↑ Derek Stevens Integral to Downtown Revival (2012) - Las Vegas Review Journal http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/derek-stevens-integral-downtown-revival
- ↑ "Fitzgeralds in downtown Vegas to become the D". CBS News. March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 The D imports new steakhouse from Detroit - VEGAS INC( 2013)http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2013/jan/22/d-imports-new-steakhouse-detroit/
- ↑ Original American Coney Island dog stand coming to Las Vegas - Las Vegas Sun (2012) http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/oct/03/original-american-coney-island-dog-stand-coming-la/#axzz2XveLhXRT
- ↑ Fitzgerald's Converts to The D Las Vegas with One Longbar - LasVegas Sun (2012) http://vegas.eater.com/archives/2012/03/13/fitzgeralds-converts-to-d-las-vegas-with-one-longbar.php
- ↑ The D Hotel & Casino - Downtown-Vegas.com (2013) http://downtown-vegas.com/hotel-the-d-las-vegas/
- ↑ http://blog.vegas.com/las-vegas-hotels/a-resort-is-reborn-under-new-ownership-in-downtown-las-vegas-24772/
- ↑ http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/mar/07/elevating-senses-escalator-d-las-vegas-features-to/
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