The Western Hotel and Casino was a hotel and
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
in downtown
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. The casino was owned and operated by the
Barrick Gaming.
The Western was the lowest rung of
Jackie Gaughan's ''low-roller'' casino empire that included the
Las Vegas Club
Las Vegas Club was a hotel and casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Club opened in 1930, joining the Las Vegas Hotel which had opened in 1908. The Las Vegas Club was relocated across the str ...
,
The Plaza, the
Gold Spike and
El Cortez.
History
The Western opened in 1970 as the Western Hotel & Bingo Parlor and was owned by Jackie Gaughan and
Mel Exber. At its opening, The Western was the world's largest
bingo parlor
In the United States and Canada, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards. The game host (known as a ''caller'') draws balls at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles ...
with 1,020 seats.
Jackie Gaughan sold the hotel to
Barrick Gaming in March 2004. The plans called for redeveloping the Western Hotel as a Latino destination resort. At the time, the AP said about the property, ''"On a stretch of despair that tourists in Las Vegas seldom see, the Western Hotel-Casino stands out as a beacon for the broke and nearly broken".''
In 2005, The
Tamares Group acquired total control of the hotel and casino through a lease from Barrick. In 2010 the hotel portion completely closed and redevelopment still remains uncertain to this day.
On November 15, 2011, the
Tamares Group announced that "due to decreased demand at this location", The Western would close on January 16, 2012. Its future redevelopment is uncertain.
In March 2013, the property was purchased for $14 million by a company affiliated with
Tony Hsieh
Anthony Hsieh ( ; December 12, 1973November 27, 2020) was an American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He retired as the CEO of the online shoe and clothing company Zappos in August 2020 after 21 years. Prior to joining Zappos, Hsi ...
's Downtown Project, a campaign to revitalize the Fremont Street area.
The hotel portion was demolished in 2013 while the casino portion remains standing as of 2024.
[https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/photo-western-hotel-no-more/]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Western, The
Casinos in the Las Vegas Valley
Skyscraper hotels in Las Vegas
Hotels established in 1970
Buildings and structures completed in 1977
Downtown Las Vegas
Defunct hotels in the Las Vegas Valley
1970 establishments in Nevada
2012 disestablishments in Nevada
Defunct casino hotels in the Las Vegas Valley