Will the Stardust Ever Be Resurrected?

I noticed Boyd Gaming is using the Stardust Social Casino in their marketing these days. It’s the same logo as the venerable Stardust Casino that closed years ago. Any chance they’ll bring back a brick and mortar Stardust Casino any time in the future?

[Editor's Note: This QoD is written by David McKee, our Stiffs & George business blogger.]

In a way.

Boyd Gaming spokesman David Strow explains. “First off, we have plans to continue expanding our use of the Stardust brand in the digital world. During our recent conference call with investors, we announced plans to launch an online casino under the Stardust brand in Pennsylvania in the near future.”

So the Stardust definitely will live on on the internet.

“And while we haven’t announced plans to rebrand a property under that brand,” Strow continues, “we have been using it in some brick-and-mortar applications as well. For example, our Stardust Suite at the Orleans is a hospitality suite that includes photos and branding from the property. The events center at Blue Chip casino in Michigan City, Indiana, is also named after Stardust.

“There’s no doubt that Stardust remains a well-known and popular brand and we'll keep looking for new ways to leverage it in the future.”

We would add that while certain Boyd properties could use a boost in brand equity (Aliante, Eastside Cannery), putting the ‘Dust brand on anything but a Strip resort would be a comedown for the beloved name. Perhaps if Echelon Place hadn't been sold by Boyd, some iteration of the Stardust brand would have returned. (As the recent resurrection of Fontainebleau indicates, no brand name is ever dead in Las Vegas.)

We certainly can’t fathom the recent craze for abstruse, alphabet-soup names—Aria, Vdara, SLS, The Drew, etc.—over ones that resonate with the Vegas-going public.

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Comments

Randall Ward Apr-10-2021

names

those strange names are just corporate speak, they look for something neutral that won't offend anyone.

Ray Apr-10-2021

What's in a name?

The names don't really matter. If anything, they might get you in the door the 1st time. But if they don't treat you the way that we were treated at the original Stardust, the re-branding would be meaningless.

Kenneth Mytinger Apr-10-2021

Among the myriad of "Boyd Blunders", closing the Stardust was far and away their worst.  It alienated visitors nationwide.  I used to hang out on a couple of travel forums, and people there were heartbroken and infuriated.

Now, this cursory attempt to keep the name alive accomplishes nothing.

Eric Forman Apr-10-2021

Do old names really help business?

I don't know if resurrecting old names for new properties would be on any real benefit. Sure, there are a lot of people who remember and loved the old Stardust, but they know the if someone builds a new property and slaps that name on it, it won't be the same. And it certainly won't help attract new business from younger clientele and first-timers who have no memory of or connection to the Stardust name. With a new name, generic as they may sound to some, they get to start with a clean slate and set their own expectations. (BTW, Aria should not be lumped in with those other examples. It's a classic and classy name.)

VegasVic Apr-10-2021

Stardust

While I loved the Stardust I don't think bringing back old names (Sahara) makes a difference.  I do think Stardust is a cool name though.

Kevin Lewis Apr-10-2021

I prefer...

...descriptive casino names, like "The Gouge," "The Ripoff," or maybe the concise "Fee." Alternatively, those descriptions could be quite long, as in "Place for Twentysomethings to Get Stinking Drunk and Blow Their Trust Funds." I'm sure it would be easy to craft a snappy acronym.

Oh, another one I like would be "Bottomless Pit."

Question of the Day - 10 April 2021

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