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An imagining of the new Gansevoort Las Vegas. The new boutique resort replacing Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon is slated to open in early 2014.
Monday, March 18, 2013 | 1:16 p.m.
Related stories
- Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall to close in February for yearlong renovation (11-29-2012)
- Drai’s After Hours bids farewell … for now (01-31-2013)
Caesars Entertainment announced today that Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon will reopen as Gansevoort Las Vegas, a standalone boutique resort scheduled to debut early next year.
The new property marks a partnership among Bill’s owner Caesars Entertainment Corp., the New York-based luxury hotel brand Gansevoort Hotel Group and nightlife mogul Victor Drai, whose eponymous after-hours nightclub has been a mainstay at the location for the past 15 years.
Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon closed Feb. 4 to undergo a $185 million renovation. Gansevoort Las Vegas will tout 188 guest rooms with 19 suites and features a Parisian apartment-style theme designed by local firm Tandem Las Vegas, which also designed boutique hotel Rumor. The renovation includes a 40,000-square-foot casino, a redesigned lobby bar, an ultra-lounge and retail outlets.
“Gansevoort Las Vegas will be a completely unique upscale lifestyle experience in Las Vegas,” said Tariq Shaukat, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Caesars Entertainment, in a statement. “It will set a new standard of fun and modern luxury, which only Gansevoort Hotel Group, Victor Drai and Caesars Entertainment can create. We are confident that Gansevoort Las Vegas will be one of the most exciting destinations in Las Vegas when it opens in 2014.”
Drai’s will return to its original location, while the new Drai’s Beach Club and Nightclub will open in a 65,000-square-foot space alongside the property’s rooftop pool.
“Drai’s After Hours has been a staple of Las Vegas nightlife for the past 15 years,” Drai said. “Drai’s set a new standard for the late-night entertainment experience in Las Vegas, and I’ve successfully raised the bar for that experience with each new venue I’ve launched. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to once again reinvent and reinvigorate the nightlife scene right where it all began 15 years ago.
“Drai’s Beach Club and Nightclub, set atop the renovated Gansevoort Las Vegas, will be unlike any other club venue in the world. I’m looking forward to entertaining guests in this beautiful rooftop venue as well as reintroducing After Hours by Drai to the resort.”
Today’s official Caesars Entertainment confirmation was reported by Robin Leach’s VegasDeLuxe.com on Nov. 1 and again Feb. 4. The official announcement also confirmed previous stories July 6, 2010, and Aug. 27, 2010, that Drai would run a 75,000-square-foot beach and nightclub with a rooftop pool.
The renovated resort is expected to employ more than 1,000 people; Bill’s staff included about 600 employees. The property was opened in 1979 as the Boyd Gaming-owned Barbary Coast. It was acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment in 2007 and subsequently rebranded as Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon in tribute to company founder Bill Harrah.
Follow Andrea Domanick on Twitter at @AndreaDomanick and fan her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AndreaDomanick.
What's a Gansevoort?
Gansevoort? I don't think this will market well to the typical Las Vegas tourist. How many travelers are familiar with this hotelier's name. I'm 68 and have never heard of it before. They better rethink this. Bad move to name something that potential customers may not even be able to pronounce.
It's a New York City brand. Not well known outside of NY. I do agree the naming is brutal. Barbary Coast to Bill's (Harrah's) to Gansevoort? The naming and rebranding in Vegas is just awful.
this has to be the worst name of a strip property ever...I guess with the big G on the side of the building it will just be called the "G"...hopefully they will see all the negative comments and change the name to something else...
LVH, SLS, the Quad, now Ganesvoort...makes me long for simpler times....Desert Inn, El Rancho Vegas and the Hacienda...
LVH, SLS, the Quad, now Ganesvoort...makes me long for simpler times....Desert Inn, El Rancho Vegas and the Hacienda...
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The Dunes, The Sands...
I don't like it. Now where am i suppose to get my $3 Coronas on the strip?
Don't forget "The D", or just "D". With D, G, the Quad, SLS, we don't have to inconvenience the whordes with having to pronounce anything.
M
Why not give it a "difficult" name. Gone is the lights and "glitz" and really cool "Vegas" look of the old Barbary Coast. The new place just looks like another Wyndham or Holiday Inn Express..... Very nice places I've stayed at around the country, but hardly anything unique or special. When in Las Vegas, most people want something more "Vegas"... Now it's just another generic hotel with a poorly selected name (Fountainbleau, M, D, LVH, TI, etc.)
Gansevoort is a BIG name in the elite tourist industry. Their Hotels in NY, Miami etc are hotspots.
Gonna miss the big classic lights at their entrance. Not liking the new design... but I guess it's 'progress.'
Now the Dutch have grabbed a slice of a Vegas icon!
I will miss Bill...with his unkept beard and constant two finger glass of scotch...The lazy eye and his corny jokes.
Really bad name. I miss the simple hotel names: Flamingo, Ceasars, Saharah, etc.
Miami called. They want their hotel back.
Vegas is really doing an amazing job building or renovating properties to look like any other major city in the US.
Obviously this will be a high end property and marketed as such. I guess the days of $35 per night rooms at this location are long gone.
BUT they will probably do well, in the same neighborhood as Bellagio and Caesars....New Resort fees, new high priced hotels, how things have changed
Is there really a need for another $500/night property on the strip. Bill's filled a need for reasonably priced rooms in the center of the strip. They had just undergone a large scale renovation and the rooms were fairly nice for an older property. Now, the middle class will have to find another place to stay. Sad to see it go.