Renovation and expansion projects give hotel-casinos new look

In Las Vegas, the risk-taking is usually done by the folks who visit the casinos, not the ones who own them. But this may be a time when the odds are better for those who are doing what they can to make their properties stand out.

That's the idea behind some recent renovation and expansion projects, particularly in the downtown corridor. Iconic casinos that have not seen a coat of paint in years are getting an entirely new look, a collection of hip, boutique hotels is opening up, and even one of the city's most popular casino-operated karaoke lounges is attracting more business with a recent face-lift.

For some, the plans were under way before the recession hit so it was a matter of staying on track to stay competitive in the long run. For others, it has simply been a gamble they have been willing to take.

South Point

Not long ago, Michael Gaughan saw that many of the local businesses and hotels were cutting back due to the recession, but he decided to do things a little differently. OK, a lot differently.

He spent $20 million on a 55,000-square-foot casino expansion which was revealed last summer. The project increased his casino floor to 135,000 square feet, making it one of the largest gaming floors in the country, according to Tom Mikovits, South Point's director of marketing.

"That's Michael Gaughan. That's his philosophy, having a single-owner property that enables you to do a lot more and take more chances, and not have to answer to anyone," Mikovits said.

Gaughan added a total of 400 machines for slot, video poker and keno, and moved the poker room from the middle of the casino floor, where the only thing separating it from the rest of the action was a temporary wall. It is now a separate room with 22 tables, nearly three times the original number, and three daily tournaments.

The changes have not only expanded the casino's offerings but allowed more room for foot traffic, especially during busy weekends. "On the weekends the place gets packed and the energy is incredible," Mikovits said.

The sports book also was reopened with new television screens and 175 seats fitted with interactive player terminals so bettors can make wagers without leaving their seats. Also, it is now one of the few casinos that has separate sports book and race book areas.

The casino has added a Steak 'n' Shake restaurant as well and an entertainment venue called The Grandview Lounge, which has weekend bands and a 12-foot TV screen to watch sports events.

Even though 60 percent of the customers at South Point are local, the hotel attracts enough out-of-town guests to sell out the 2,2000 rooms on most weekends, Mikovits said.

Business since the expansion, he added, has been on the rise.

"Our customer numbers are definitely up," he said.

Gold Spike, Oasis, Rumor

When Michael Crandall, director of business affairs for the Siegel Group, was asked during a recent telephone conversation why his company has decided that now is the time to turn dilapidated Las Vegas properties into modern boutique hotels like ones found in major markets such as Chicago and Miami, he is quiet for a beat or two.

Finally, he says with a chuckle, "The time is right because this is the time we decided to do it."

There is no ego in his answer, he just sounds like a guy who has been going full throttle during the past several months helping to transform some of the city's most care-worn properties -- and care-worn, in some cases, is saying it very nicely.

In the past, the Siegel Group, headed by president Stephen Siegel, has specialized in turning around run-down apartment buildings but now, for the first time, it is getting into the hotel business. What still remains the same, however, is a core philosophy akin to the well-used adage of turning others' lemons into lemonade.

Take their first venture: In 2008 they purchased the rundown Gold Spike casino located on North Las Vegas Boulevard and within three months had started major renovations. "It was horrible ... and we went in there and rolled up our sleeves and totally turned it around," Crandall said.

The neighboring 50-room Travel Inn, which had stood empty for six years and was also in dire need of a major overhaul, was picked up by the company as well, entirely renovated, refurbished and renamed the Oasis at Gold Spike.

In July, they opened the two-story Rumor hotel off of Harmon Avenue, formerly the St. Tropez, after spending $4 million on renovations alone. It may be their best example, so far, of a modern, boutique hotel, according to Crandall. The décor is all clean lines and modern furnishings, while the rooms surround a courtyard of palm trees, a pool with a spacious deck and cabanas.

"We've had a tremendously positive response. (Customers) walk in and don't even feel like they're in Vegas, and they're just two minutes away from the Strip," Crandall said.

Other projects have included the restoration of the 64-room Artisan Boutique Hotel on West Sahara Avenue and renovations at The Resort on Mount Charleston. So far, the rustic hotel nestled in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest has received a new facade and landscaping, while future plans include upgrading the spa, rooms and restaurant, according to Crandall.

El Cortez

In order to illustrate the state of the El Cortez before renovations started a few years back, Alexandra Epstein, the property's executive manager, recently referred to the death scene of Sharon Stone's down-and-out character in the 1995 movie "Casino," set in a hotel that, to put it mildly, had seen better days. The scene was filmed at the El Cortez.

Today, the movie's location scouts would have passed right by the downtown property, which has seen some major transformations. "We have renovation projects going on 24/7; once one finishes another is going on," Epstein said.

The 70-year-old casino has been entirely updated, including the casino floor, The Flame Steakhouse, even the elevators and bathrooms. The 300-room hotel tower has also been revamped, and the former Ogden House, a sister hotel that supplied overflow rooms, was renamed Cabana Suites and received its own $7.5 million renovation.

Its 102 rooms were turned into 64 suites with decor that was completely updated, including contemporary touches such as black-and-white floor tiles, faux-crocodile vinyl and walls painted in lime green and bright aqua.

The next two projects include building an outdoor pool next to the Cabana Suites that will harken back to "midcentury, old-school Vegas" and the renovation of six suites in the original tower that were never updated, Epstein said.

The interior design for the six suites will be done by the winner of a contest the hotel is sponsoring. Area interior designers were asked to submit their plans for revamping a tower suite and given a budget of $20,000. The top four were chosen and will be revamping four separate suites in the coming weeks, she said.

The judges, including local top designers and hotel executives, will choose a final winner who will renovate the remaining six suites.

So far, the designs include one that mirrors a 1950s-era recreation room, while the others have a much more contemporary feel, Epstein said.

Golden Nugget

Five years ago, Landry's Restaurants Inc. purchased the Golden Nugget, and one of the first things the company wanted to do was create an attraction that would set the hotel-casino apart from everyone else. And they did.

The hotel's pool, The Tank, has been voted one of the world's top 10 hotel swimming pools by Forbes Traveler, and it's no wonder. The three-story, $30-million complex includes waterfalls and a 200,000-gallon shark aquarium that guests can slice right through the middle of by plummeting down a transparent tube-shaped waterslide.

Every aspect of the hotel itself has also been updated, including the original hotel rooms, showroom, casino floor, spa and restaurants.

"No area was left untouched, from the carpet to the light fixtures to the wall features," said Amy Chasey, vice president of marketing.

The most ambitious project has been the creation of the $150 million Rush Tower that opened one year ago. It offers 500 rooms, including four penthouse suites and 70 smaller corner suites with views of the Strip.

"It just didn't make sense to pull back and we figured we'd be positioning ourselves well for when the economy did come back," Chasey said.

In the meantime, however, just who are they trying to target with all these changes: young, old, hipster, local?

"I think five to 10 years ago everybody had a target demographic, and I think in this economy we're all going after the masses."

So far it seems to be working. The hotel-casino is selling an average of 10,000 more rooms each month compared to a year ago and, in terms of hiring, it has increased its employee total by about 10 percent, Chasey said.

Ellis Island

When workers started to replace the ceiling tiles in the karaoke lounge at Ellis Island earlier this year, the owner walked in one day, looked around and decided the entire room might as well get a face-lift.

By the time renovations were complete, what could be the city's longest-running karaoke lounge had gotten a new Venetian-plaster ceiling, carpet, booths, tables, and marble and granite floor at a cost of about $100,000, said Marcus Zavala, the casino's general manager. And the deep-burgundy color scheme? It was replaced by lighter, more contemporary colors.

"It's kind of a funny story," Zavala said. "We didn't start out for it to be that intensive, but it's beautiful."

The changes make sense when you want to keep customers interested in what has been voted the best karaoke lounge in the Review-Journal's Best of Las Vegas readers' poll several years in a row. In fact, cabbies are known to suggest the 20-year-old lounge to tourists looking for a chance to dust off the pipes and sing a little country, a little rock 'n' roll, maybe even a Spanish ballad. The lounge, in fact, has acquired a list of about 10,000 titles during its 20-year existence.

According to Zavala, the lounge has been averaging about $1,000 in additional sales since the face-lift. That's a lot of $1.75 microbeers.

"We're doing well, God bless us, and, again, it's because we put out a superior product at a low price," he said.