The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is a resort near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The Westin is managed by Pyramid Hotel Group, under franchise from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, owner of Westin Hotels. It is noteworthy for being one of the first Las Vegas resorts to prohibit smoking in almost all parts of the property.[1][2]
| The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 160 East Flamingo Road |
| Opening | July 1, 1977 |
| Owner | Columbia Sussex |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 826 |
| Number of suites | 13 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
History
Maxim Hotel (1977-2001)
The property was originally opened on July 1, 1977 as the Maxim Hotel and Casino. Though smaller than typical Vegas resorts even before today's megaresort era, the Maxim had a popular following because of its attention to personal service. It thrived during the 1980s, but went into decline as flashier, larger resorts opened on the nearby Strip.
The Maxim was the site of the shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Shakur was a passenger in a BMW that was driving in front of the casino, when a man in a Cadillac pulled up and opened fire, gravely wounding the rap star. He died a week later from his injuries.[3]
In 1999, the casino was closed in a dispute between the casino operator and hotel owners. The hotel itself remained open without gaming until closing entirely in 2001.
The Westin Casuarina/The Westin Las Vegas (2003-present)
Columbia Sussex bought the former Maxim for $38 million then spent an additional $90 million on the remodel.[4] They reopened the hotel as The Westin Casuarina on November 6, 2003,[5] using the name of their successful resort in the Cayman Islands. The Westin Casuarina marked the first Westin resort nationwide to feature a casino and was the first Westin in Nevada.[6]
In November 2010, lenders filed for foreclosure on The Westin Casuarina, after Columbia Sussex stopped making payments on the property's $160 million mortgage in April.[7] The hotel's general manager said in October 2011 that Columbia Sussex would not fight the foreclosure, and that the hotel was overleveraged due to property values declining in the recession.[7] Lenders asked a court to appoint Pyramid Hotel Group as receiver to operate the resort. Pyramid leased the property's casino to 777 Gaming, a company that had operated several rural casinos and a slot route, for four years beginning in May 2012.[8]
The hotel was later renamed The Westin Las Vegas. The casino floor had fewer than 300 slot and video poker machines and only ten table games, far smaller than Strip megaresorts and even smaller than many casinos catering to local residents.[citation needed] Instead, the resort concentrated more on its hotel amenities, including a destination spa. The hotel aannounced in 2016 that it would phase out its casino facilities and operate purely as a hotel.[9] The casino closed in July 2017 and is being replaced with a new restaurant.[10]
References
- ^ Yancey, Kitty (2005-12-04). "Westin hotels ban smoking". USA Today. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ Stutz, Howard; Ed Vogel (2006-06-07). "SMOKING QUESTION: Worries over ban surface". Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ Tupac Shakur LV Shooting - Thugz-Network.com
- ^ Benston, Liz (2003-06-25). "Former Maxim emerging as 'heavenly' Westin hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ Benston, Liz (2007-11-07). "Westin opens in Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ Benston, Liz (2003-07-25). "Westin Hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ a b Green, Steve (19 October 2011). "Lenders taking over Westin Casuarina Las Vegas hotel-casino". Vegas Inc. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ Stutz, Howard (June 3, 2012). "Nevadan at Work: Exec aims to pump vibrancy into Westin Casuarina's casino". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ http://vegas.eater.com/2016/5/5/11595170/westin-las-vegas-to-dump-the-casino-and-add-a-restaurant
- ^ https://vegas.eater.com/2017/8/4/16092782/jake-eli-restaurant-and-more-to-westin-las-vegas