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The changing face of Las Vegas could change again, as one of the City’s most iconic hotels may be up for sale.
The circus of the circus The hotel has nearly 4,000 rooms and is the 10th largest in Las Vegas and the 18th largest in the world. It is owned by gaming entrepreneur Phil Ruffin.
“This iconic property has been part of the mythos of Las Vegas, from its appearance in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ to the thousands of local children who grew up going there on field trips,” said Amanda Bellarmino, an assistant professor at the William UNLV F. Harrah’s F. College of Hospitality.
“I sincerely hope that if it is sold, it will be kept,” she said. “The price tag seems a bit high for the property, but the land adjacent to it is a prime development site.”
“At $50 million an acre, you’d be hard-pressed to build anything but a luxury offering,” said realtor Josh Swissman. “So whatever the design is, it has to be the upper end in terms of the price scale.”
“And that sometimes makes it difficult to have a family-oriented structure,” Swissman continued. “There are a lot of people who think the days for such units have come and gone.”
The resort was built in 1968. Although it is aimed at children, it has received its share of negative reviews for being too scary. Ruffin, who paid $825 million for the circus five years ago, promoted the establishment toward families.
“As we continue to see our city evolve, there are more opportunities for that plot of land than ever before,” Belarmino said. “Could it be used for (Formula One) or for an NBA arena? I dare say, this could be a place for a movie studio. Whatever happens, there’s a lot of potential for a transformation at that end of the strip.”
The hotel had a problem with the bed Less than six months ago.
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