Consider it pitched.
The Parisian-themed Moulin Rouge, which we last covered in the July 9, 2016 QoD, and narrated the whole history thereof in QoD Sept. 29, 2007, and July 29, 2006, was Las Vegas’ first integrated casino, which opened during the height of segregation on the Strip in May 1955.
The site of the casino-nightclub, in West Las Vegas, is currently in receivership and the rights to the name may be as well. If they're not?
OK, you're Derek Stevens and you have to ask yourself how much brand equity the Moulin Rouge name possesses. On the one hand, interest in the Moulin Rouge is incredibly disproportionate to the casino's lifespan: six months 61 years ago. That's gotta be worth something, right?
On the other hand, fascination with the Moulin Rouge hinges largely on its status as America's first desegregated casino, not something you can market any longer. (The caliber of its entertainment was certainly a highlight, but attracting headliners the caliber of Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, and Lena Horne to play downtown moots that idea.)
Also, attempts to reboot a casino by seizing on the name of a bygone resort have been generally disastrous. The Aladdin tried to retain the name after it closed and was rebuilt as a megaresort, but went bankrupt in three years. And when then-Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars) sold the Showboat in 2005, it was renamed the Castaways after a bygone Strip resort, as Harrah's was retaining the Showboat brand. It went through two more owners in a year before being shuttered and was demolished in 2006.
Long story short, casino nostalgia isn't a great marketing hook. That's one of the reasons we remain skeptical about reviving the old Moulin Rouge on its original site, or deploying it, as you suggest, downtown. Besides, to do it properly, it would have to be an operator like Stevens, Station, or Boyd, with deep pockets, a big player database, and strong knowledge of the market. The fish circling the Moulin Rouge site now impress us as strictly small fry.
