You weren't imagining it: Back on December 12 last year, out of the blue on-off Mötley Crüe front man Vince Neil announced, via his Twitter, that he had signed a deal with Hooters Casino to open a "Rock and Roll sports bar." His exuberant tweeting made it all sound like a done deal, although the stated time-frame was hard to believe: "Wildside Saloon at Hooters Casino LV Should be open in next 30 Days!!! Hooters, Rock and Sports! What more do you want!!!!"
What more, indeed? Neil can't seem to get enough of Sin City, with past ventures including the Feelgood's bar on W. Sahara (it's still there, but there was a falling-out among the owners and Vince is no longer a part of it), Vince Neil Ink tattoo parlors at O'Sheas and the Rio (both no more), the still extant Tatuado Restaurant & Cantina at LVH, and his "dream come true": Deja Vu Presents - Vince Neil's Girls, Girls, Girls, a strip club by the Orleans that was billed as being "his" when it opened, but in reality we doubt that the rocker's involvement goes much beyond lending his name and enjoying the odd lap dance. The club, as far as we know, is still owned by the Déjà Vu chain, in a similar arrangement to Larry Flynt's Hustler Club here in town, with which Flynt has little more connection than permitting the use of his name and brand.
It seems Vince Neil is never far from the headlines in Las Vegas, whether in regard to opening some new venture, or for the less positive stories involving a string of legal problems, including two suspected DUIs (the first was bargained down to a reckless driving charge), a couple of domestic battery charges (one of which was apparently unfounded), and an incident at the valet parking pick-up at Mandalay Bay that was all over YouTube, when the singer totally lost it over the refusal of staff to return the keys to his Rolls Royce because he'd lost his ticket.
Meanwhile, Hooters Casino has had a distinctly checkered history of its own, to the surprise of many never making it as a successful casino brand in Sin City, where it might have seemed to be a natural fit. Following a $190 million rebranding and remodeling effort, the new casino concept launched in the off-Strip property formerly known as the San Remo in early 2006, with much fanfare, a lot of orange carpet, and a smattering of "B" List celebrities. Two years later it was already $130 million in the hole and was sold for just $225 million. The downward spiral continued and in 2011 the property filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, having essentially fallen under the control of its lenders when the owners defaulted on successive payments. An auction failed to attract any bidders and the future looked pretty bleak for Hooters' sole casino.
However, in early 2012, creditor Canpartners Realty Holding Company IV purchased the property with a $60 million credit bid, under a sales plan approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, and things started to look up. There followed an announcement last December that the hotel-casino was to receive a major facelift, overseen by a new team that had previously worked at the Hard Rock. The plan apparently included a major remodel of the casino space, room renovations, and the introduction of celebrity brands, among other things.
Enter the ubiquitous Vince Neil.
But no sooner had the grand plans been touted in the media than serious fissures emerged within the new regime, and the team of Hard Rock hotshots was out almost before their feet had graced that orange carpet. Then it all went very quiet again over on Tropicana Ave., and has been ever since.
It took calls to no less than a half-dozen departments before we managed to speak with a human being, but finally a players club representative confirmed that the Wildside Saloon had never advanced beyond Vince's tweets, while a room-reservations agent was adamant that there were zero plans for any room upgrades (she sounded positively offended at the very suggestion.) So, it looks like Hooters is once more in search of a plan, while Vince Neil no doubt has more important things to worry about than another bar, having recently collapsed on stage from a kidney stone attack while on tour in Australia (from which he fortunately appears to have made a full recovery, tweeting once again a week later, "Thank you Australia! I had a blast! See you all next tour!"
