Imperial Palace executives were distressed to learn that a potential customer couldn’t reserve a room there, saying that they’re taking reservations in September ... and beyond. "We’re here to stay for a while," said one, defining "a while" as "several more years." The booking problem may have been related to the IP’s ongoing integration into the larger Harrah’s Entertainment reservation-and-marketing machinery. At any rate, prospective IP guests are encouraged to call 800/634-6441 to book rooms.
As for the demise of the IP, this has been bandied about ever since Harrah’s acquired the place in spring 2005. At one point, it was rumored that a shopping mall would take the IP’s place.
Also, Harrah’s indicated that the IP, Flamingo, Harrah’s Las Vegas, and O’Shea’s would be subsumed into (or possibly replaced by) a massive metaresort stretching all the way back to Koval Lane and down to Flamingo Road. That plan, however, has been indefinitely postponed, possibly because of difficulties in securing the last few acres required (apartment owner Oscar Nuñez continues to hold out, according to VegasTodayAndTomorrow.com) or because Harrah’s, in the process of being taken private, put almost all new development on hold.
The most definitive indication that Harrah’s had experienced a change of heart regarding the IP’s future came last December, when Imperial Palace was belatedly integrated into Harrah’s company-wide Total Rewards database marketing system.
As for other casinos that may (or may not) be imploded in the near future, we all have ones we might like to see imploded (hmm ... we feel a reader poll coming on). But it looks like anything that’s on the Strip right now is here to stay, at least for a while.
The Sahara will be partially torn down and rebuilt in stages, but will remain open during that time.
As for the Tropicana, its owners have announced plans to demolish the rear Island Tower and integrate the front Paradise Tower into a 10,000-unit hotel/condo behemoth. However, even though Tropicana owner William Yung III told the Wall Street Journal he was confident he could still get the project financed, his proposed budget of $3.5 billion appears inadequate to the task, especially at a time when the cost of the 3,000-unit Cosmopolitan has escalated to $3 billion.
