Bourbon Street to be shuttered

By Liz Benston

Monday, Aug. 1, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. expects to close the Bourbon Street hotel and casino by Oct. 31 to make way for an as-yet undisclosed development.

Harrah's purchased the property, located on Flamingo Road just off the Strip, in March for about $61 million. This month, Harrah's closed on a nearby parcel anchored by Battista's Hole in the Wall, an Italian restaurant at 4041 Audrie Street.

Company spokesman David Strow said Bourbon Street's 110 or so employees may apply for other jobs at Harrah's six Strip properties.

Strow wouldn't say whether the building would be torn down or what might replace the property, which operates about 100 slots and no table games and has fewer than 200 hotel rooms.

The company doesn't yet know what's in store for Bourbon Street, which was "acquired for long-term development," he said.

Las Vegas resort broker David Atwell said the purchase makes sense for Harrah's because the company now owns the Flamingo, which is in front of Bourbon Street facing the Strip. The company may eventually look to acquire additional land at the corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, especially the Barbary Coast, he said.

Strow declined to comment on the implication that Harrah's might be purchasing more land in the neighborhood.

"We can't comment on speculation about (land) we may or may not be interested in purchasing," he said.

Officials with Boyd Gaming Corp., which owns the Barbary Coast, couldn't be reached by press time.

Harrah's has been operating the hotel and restaurant at the Bourbon Street since March but not the casino, which is managed by slot route operator United Coin Machine Co.

The New Orleans-theme property has been bought and sold at least five times in the past five years. It's value has increased nearly sixfold in less than a year.

Most recently, a group of investors purchased the Bourbon Street for about $11 million in January. Investors including a Dallas real estate owner and Reagan Silber, a California-based investor and poker player, planned to redevelop the property.

Harrah's executives have said the company will one day bring a Horseshoe-brand hotel and casino to the Strip, either by redeveloping an existing property or building anew.