Gambling news from http://www.dailybulletin.com/
Laughlin appears to be shedding its image as a Nevada gambling town where there's little change.
Practically every hotel-casino along the Colorado River - and one major property that doesn't have "hotel & casino" in its name - is undergoing an upgrade or expansion.
The Flamingo Laughlin Hotel & Casino will have a new name and a new look starting this fall. The 16-year-old property will be called Aquarius Casino Resort, and blues and greens - not pink - will bathe the interior. A large water feature with fiber-optic lights will set the aquatic scene at the main entrance. Remodeled suites, guest rooms and other amenities will follow.
"We really want to take advantage of our location on the river," said Christine Grevich, director of retail marketing.
At Harrah's Laughlin Hotel & Casino, all the rooms are being renovated (with new beds, carpeting, etc.). Work is finished in the central and south towers, and it is expected to wrap by the end of the year in the north tower, the one generally reserved for families.
"We're also consolidating some of the standard rooms and making more suites," said spokeswoman Cecilia Marotto. "We're getting more high-end, avid, experienced players and that's the type of room they're looking for."
Besides upgrading the guest rooms, Harrah's has moved and expanded its poker room, and in April the hotel-casino opened a 24-hour Beach Cafe that features a 90-item menu. Also, two private beach-front cabanas are available for rental, and the fee includes lunch for four people, porter service and a plasma TV.
The Golden Nugget Laughlin is nearly finished with a redo of its 300 guest rooms. The casino floor has already been remodeled and there are new dining options, thanks to last year's purchase of the company by Landry's Restaurants Inc.
The River Cafe has been replaced by the Saltgrass Steak House, the restaurant's 35th location and first in Nevada; Jane's Grill is out and Harlow's, the 24-hour restaurant that recalls the Roaring Twenties, is in; and Joe's Crab Shack is where the Deck restaurant used to be.
At the railroad-themed Ramada
Express Hotel & Casino, the rooms also will be renovated. That $11 million project will start in November.
A new entertainment venue, the River Sands Theater, opened in April at the River Palms Resort & Casino. The 300-seat theater has the Beatles tribute show "Yesterday" through Oct. 31.
At the Edgewater Hotel & Casino, Kokopelli's Lounge has been remade into a 300-seat showroom in which live bands perform nightly.
The showroom at the Flamingo - make that the Aquarius - will be remodeled into a lounge and have both indoor and outdoor seating.
The two-story Horizon Outlet Center, which boasts more than 55 merchants, will double in size to 600,000 square feet and will go more upscale, adding such retailers as Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Quiksilver and Calvin Klein. The mall hopes to become a destination retail center, not unlike the Fashion Outlets at Primm, Nev., though construction won't be completed for a couple of years.
Laughlin's remodeling/growth spurt is primarily due to the influx of new owners at the various properties, said Meg McDaniel of the Laughlin Visitors Bureau. Besides the Golden Nugget, there are new owners at the Flamingo (American Casino & Entertainment, which also owns the Stratosphere Casino and both Arizona Charlie's locations in Las Vegas), Ramada Express (Columbia Sussex, which also owns the River Palms in town) and the Horizon Outlet Center (Ariel Preferred Retail Group).
"I think the perception of Laughlin has been that nothing was happening here, that we were kind of stagnant," McDaniel said. "But the things happening now remind me of the 1980s when Laughlin went through this huge growth and boom and all the properties were building."
Laughlin Visitors Bureau: www.visitlaughlin.com; (800) 452-8445.
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