Comments (19) | Add a comment
Western Hotel in downtown Las Vegas will close in January
-
Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rochester Smith stands Tuesday at a bus stop near the Western Hotel, 899 Fremont St. Smith said he's frequented the Western Hotel since the 1970s for its "old timers." But he'll have to go elsewhere next year. Tamares Real Estate on Tuesday said that the casino will close Jan. 16 after 41 years of operation. Tamares will review redevelopment plans during the closure. » Buy this photo
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The Western Hotel's glory days were long gone, its hotel rooms shuttered.
The casino floor remained, touting $1 craps games and $1 snacks.
But owner Tamares Real Estate on Tuesday put the final nail in the Western's coffin, announcing that the casino is shutting its doors Jan. 16 after 41 years of operation.
The closure may not be permanent. Tamares' director of Las Vegas properties, Jonathan Jossel, said in a statement Tuesday that the company will "review redevelopment plans" while the downtown property at 899 Fremont St., is closed. Tamares earlier this year oversaw $35 million in renovations at the Western Hotel's sister property, the Plaza. The company also owns the Las Vegas Club.
"We remain extremely confident about the long-term success of downtown Las Vegas," Jossel said. "The closure of the Western does not change the commitment Tamares has to the area. In fact, just the opposite is true."
The Western Hotel's 90 employees may be able to find work at the Las Vegas Club or the Plaza, Jossel said. All workers were notified Tuesday that they could be unemployed in the next 60 days.
About 38 Western Hotel employees are members of the Culinary Local 226 and Bartenders Local 165.
"It's sad to see the Western close," Culinary President Geoconda Arguello-Kline said in a statement.
Arguello-Kline said the union will encourage Western workers to attend training opportunities at the Culinary Training Academy.
"We will do everything we can to support members through this tough time," the union president said.
Tamares said the Western's closure was a result of "decreased demand at this location," but some downtowners fear the closure could negatively affect downtown's resurgence.
Michael Crandall, business affairs director for the Siegel Group, a company that counts the Gold Spike downtown among its holdings, said the closure would be a blow to the area.
Among the worst potential consequences, Crandall said, is that a darkened Western Hotel will choke off economic growth in the burgeoning Fremont East entertainment district.
"I think it is bad for that area it is closing," Crandall said. "That is a big piece of property to be dark."
However, Crandall said the area doesn't draw the customer base needed to generate the kind of business it would take to pay for the millions of dollars it could take to make the Western Hotel viable.
"No matter what that place needs money," he said.
If the Fremont East Entertainment District spreads further east, the Western Hotel could stand to benefit if reopened, said David G. Schwartz, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research.
Schwartz said the Western Hotel's closure may push its customers to other neighborhood casinos.
"Traditionally, it's just been a little isolated there (on Fremont Street)," Schwartz said. "Some people who might have been going there might end up going to the El Cortez or other Tamares properties."
The casino, located on Fremont Street between Eighth and Ninth streets, was built by Jackie Gaughan and Mel Exber in 1970. Barrick Gaming acquired the property, along with the Plaza, Gold Spike and Las Vegas Club, in 2004 and planned to turn the Western Hotel into a Latino destination resort, the company at the time told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Barrick in 2005 passed control of the property to Tamares. The company contracted PlayLV to operate the Western Hotel.
No redevelopment plans were ever put into place.
Contact reporter Caitlin McGarry at cmcgarry@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Benjamin Spillman contributed to this report.
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
@ Peter Grif... Actually, i'm typing this from the Casino right now!! The Dealer just told me to say Hello. LUCKY #20
"Barrick in 2005 passed control of the property to Tamares. The company contracted PlayLV to operate the Western Hotel."
Because of disagreements between them, Barrick was pretty much forced to pass control to Tamares. The company then contracted the Navegante Group to manage the properties...at that time, the Plaza, Las Vegas Club, Gold Spike and Western. Navegante later pulled out to concentrate on other ventures. Tamares then formed PlayLV as a subsidiary to manages the properties.
They took the sawdust out a long time ago, gehrig. And, you're absolutely right, snacker. I've worked there. We worked hard to clean up the clientele and surveillance worked with LVPD to clean up that area of Fremont. The employees were the most dedicated bunch of people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Anyone who says the Western is full of "TWO-BIT PIMP CRACK ADDICTS" hasn't been there for years and has no idea what they're talking about. I've worked on the Strip and wouldn't give 2-cents for it. But, I loved working at the Western.
You thought wrong Peter G., been there several times in the last year. Enjoyed the place including the cheap table games. The atmosphere takes you back a few decades, especially with the wood paneling. The place will be missed.
"you'll have fun tellin' how much you won at the western hotel". one of my favorites, one of only a couple of sawdust joints left in town.
The only reason the Western is closing is because of poor management. Business at every property started going downhill when they kicked Barrick out. Tamares needs to get out of the casino business and concentrate on real estate.
They could have brought all the old beds and curtains from the Plaza to "renovate" the Western, and called it new, too!
LOL...and they say the Plaze has been remodeled?...i was just there and when you park in the ramp and enter the casino the very first thing a customer takes in is the vandalized, dirty and suspiciously slow elevators, the dirty floors, the dirty walls, and the decrepid atmosphere. Why would ANYBODY with good business sense not correct these things when these things are the very first issues that confront a customer?...LOL, you dont even get one foot into the casino before you have drawn an opinion that is extremely negative and one that would make ANY self respecting person just keep on going.....The Plaza---the New Western......the best thing they could possibly do is bring back Dusty Barron.
I thought the Western was a cool place , it was like stepping back in time, very interesting people there. I think the strip is a dump unless you are rich. Vegas used to be cool.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS PROPERTY HAS LONG BEEN THE DESTINATION FOR TWO-BIT PIMP CRACK ADDICTS WHO PUT ENAMEL DECAYED ADDICTED METH-HEADS ON THE STREET FOR PROSTITUTION. IT'S AN EMBARRASSMENT. THE LOCALS ACCEPTED IT AND IT'S PROBLEMS WHILE JACKIE OWNED IT, BUT AS SOON AS IT CHANGED HANDS, THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL. IT'S LONG OVERDUE, AND IT'S CLOSURE WILL NOT EVEN COME CLOSE TO SHEDDING A BAD LIGHT ON THE EXPERIENCE. THAT WILL HOLD IT'S OWN IN IT'S OWN RIGHT, AND VISITORS WILL NEVER CONNECT THE TWO LIKE THE LOCALS WILL. AS FOR THE WORKERS, WELL, THAT'S UNION LIFE, ISN'T IT. IT'S NEVER GOOD FOR LONG, AND IT'S NEVER BAD FOR LONG. A WORD OF ADVICE. DO SOMETHING FOR A JOB YOU'VE NEVER CONSIDERED BEFORE. AS LONG AS YOU PAY YOUR DUES, IT'LL SPRING BACK FOR YOU AGAIN. IT'S A CYCLE. SPOKEN BY A 20 YEAR UNION GUY IN THIS TOWN.