Goodbye Cromwell, hello.... Vanderpump?!
The Cromwell in Las Vegas has an interesting history.
It opened as Barbary Coast in 1979, built by Michael Gaughan, on the northeast corner of Flamingo Blvd and Las Vegas Blvd.
It stayed mostly the same for 25 years, and featured one of the worst designed and most dangerous parking garages imaginable.
In 2004, Boyd purchased Coast Casinos, so it became a Boyd property, but otherwise functioned the same and still retained the Barbary Coast branding.
This all changed in 2006. Many of you may not remember this, but Caesars had just merged with Harrah's in 2005, and they were hungry to expand. They eyed the block on Las Vegas Blvd starting from Flamingo and going north to Harrah's. The idea was to wreck the entire area, and then built a megaresort which would overshadow Caesars Palace as their flagship property in Vegas. Additionally, it would have the convenience of being directly across the street from Caesars Palace, and across in the other direction from Bally's (now Horseshoe), which they also owned.
In order to have this mega resort, Caesars had to acquire all of the properties within that span. They already owned Harrah's, Flamingo, and Imperial Palace (now called The Linq), and O'Shea's, but still needed Barbary Coast.
Caesars rectified this by trading for Barbary Coast, and giving Boyd some land on the north strip, in return. Since Coast was a brand owned by Boyd, the property had to be renamed, so it (temporarily) became Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, in honor of Harrah's founder William Harrah.
It was expected that, sometime around 2008, the entire group of properties would be demolished, and the megaresort would be rapidly constructed.
But what happened in 2008? Oh that's right... the financial crash, which devastated Vegas worse than most other US cities. That put the entire plan on hold. Caesars ended up heavily in debt, and at the same time realized they didn't need a megaresort there. They could do just find by squeezing revenue out of the existing four hotels, and aim them at mid-level tourists.
But what of Bill's Gamblin' Hall? They still wanted to do something with it, as it was run down and in poor condition, even by Caesars standards.
That's when they got the idea to turn it into a boutique hotel. They shut down Bill's in 2013, and entered into a partnership with the Gansevoort Hotel Group, who would stamp their name on the property and operate it, while it would remain part of Total Rewards (now Caesars Rewards).
Unfortunately, Gansevoort was found to have ties with a Russian mobster causing a huge regulatory headache for Caesars. They severed the partnership with Gansevoort, and completed the redesign on their own. Laughably, due to their lack of due diligence in this matter, their (presumably leading) bid for Boston's sole casino license was considered dead in the water, and they withdrew. This is probably why Encore Boston exists, rather than Caesars Boston.
Anyway, it opened in 2014 as "The Cromwell". The name was thought to have been pulled out of their ass, and selected because it sounds upper class. This angered Michael Gaughan, the original property owner, as it reminded him of Oliver Cromwell, a brutal 1600s English ruler who mistreated the Irish.
Well, Gaughan (who is still alive) will finally get his wish. The Cromwell will soon cease to exist, and become....
"The Vanderpump Hotel"
... named after Lisa Vanderpump, with whom Caesars already has an association.
Here's the description from Caesars webpage about it:
Quote:
Lisa Vanderpump is set to bring her signature glamour to the Las Vegas Strip with the Vanderpump Hotel, debuting in early 2026. The Cromwell Las Vegas will be transformed with opulent furnishings, bespoke lighting, and a captivating new lounge. Every detail, from the enchanting guest rooms to the revitalized casino floor, will embody elegance and comfort. The Vanderpump Hotel promises a luxurious escape infused with style and sophistication.
Lisa gained fame from her long-running presence on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" during the 2010s. She's English, and 64 years old.
https://www.caesars.com/content/dam/...-img/image.jpg
I'll get to her history with Caesars, and the public reaction to this hotel transformation, in the next post....
