The Linq

The Linq Hotel & Casino

The Linq Promenade with the High Roller in the background.
Location Paradise, Nevada
Address 3535 Las Vegas Blvd South
Opening date 1959 (1959)
Number of rooms 2,640
Total gaming space 118,000 square feet (11,000 m2)
Permanent shows Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas
Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly
Signature attractions High Roller
The Auto Collections
The Linq Promenade
O'Sheas Casino
Notable restaurants Yard House
Casino type Land-based
Owner Caesars Entertainment
Previous names Flamingo Capri
Imperial Palace
The Quad
Renovated in 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 2012, 2014
Coordinates 36°07′03″N 115°10′22″W / 36.11750°N 115.17278°W / 36.11750; -115.17278Coordinates: 36°07′03″N 115°10′22″W / 36.11750°N 115.17278°W / 36.11750; -115.17278
Website caesars.com/linq

The Linq Hotel & Casino (formerly Flamingo Capri, Imperial Palace and The Quad) is a casino, 2,640-room hotel, and shopping promenade on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The casino is 118,000 square feet (11,000 m2)[1] with 830 slot machines, 55 table games, and a race and sports book.[2]

History

Flamingo Capri (1959-1979)

The property began as the $2 million, 180-room Flamingo Capri motel, owned by George E. Goldberg and Bill Capri. The motel was built directly north of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, where Capri was an employee. The motel began construction in May 1959,[3] with a planned completion date of August 15, 1959.[4] Douglas Honnold and John Rex, both of Beverly Hills, California, were the architects. Maurice N. Aroff of Beverly Hills was the general contractor.[4] The Flamingo Capri opened in 1959.[5] The original Flamingo agreed to provide hotel services to guests at the Capri.[3]

Ralph Engelstad purchased the motel in 1971, and added a casino in 1972.[3] In 1973, four motel buildings from the Flamingo Capri were relocated and converted to become part of Engelstad's other property, the Kona Kai motel.[6] Engelstad's construction company added a three-story wing at the east end of the motel, as well as a northern addition, both of which were opened by 1974.[3]

By 1976, the motel was being operated as part of the Best Western hotel chain, while retaining the Flamingo Capri name. The new Imperial Palace Tower, which raised the number of rooms from 300 to 650, was completed in July 1977.[7]

Imperial Palace (1979-2012)

Imperial Palace

The property later re-opened as the Asian-themed Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino on November 1, 1979.[3]

The Imperial Theatre showroom with 850 seats was opened in June 1980. A second hotel tower with 850 rooms was added in early 1981, which brought the hotel's room count to 1,500. The Auto Collections opened on December 1, 1981, on the fifth floor of a new parking garage which was added that year. A third hotel tower was added in August 1982.

In 1984, a couple from Missouri were assaulted in their guest room by a man dressed as a hotel employee. They were beaten, bound and gagged, and the wife was raped. The assailant was never caught. The couple sued the Imperial Palace, claiming that the hotel did not provide adequate security. The lawsuit lasted until at least 1989, with allegations that hotel employees destroyed evidence relating to their security practices. The case was ultimately settled on undisclosed terms.[8]

The lawsuit would lead indirectly to more trouble for the casino. In 1988, several employees, angry about being placed on leave as punishment for talking to the plaintiff attorney, began speaking to the Gaming Control Board and local media about two Nazi-themed parties Engelstad had held at the Imperial Palace. The parties were held in Engelstad's so-called "war room", which featured a large collection of World War II Nazi memorabilia, including a portrait of Engelstad in the likeness of Hitler. A national controversy ensued. Engelstad claimed the collection was purely of historical interest, and not meant to glorify the Nazis. The Gaming Control Board recommended that Engelstad lose his gaming license and be fined $200,000 for reflecting poorly on the reputation of the Nevada gaming industry. An agreement was ultimately reached whereby Engelstad kept his license, but paid $1.5 million in penalties.[8]

In 1986, the casino was expanded by 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2), with the meeting and convention space also being expanded. A fourth hotel tower was also added in 1986, for a total of 2,100 rooms. A final, 19-story tower with over 500 rooms was finished in 1987, bringing the total to 2,637 hotel rooms.[3]

A major expansion from August 1987 to July 1989 included a new swimming pool, a two-story waterfall, heated spa and poolside bar, a nightclub, race & sports book, health and fitness center, and office complex. In 1993, an independent 24-hour medical facility serving guests and employees was opened.

When Engelstad died in 2002, the casino ownership transferred to the Ralph Engelstad and Betty Engelstad Trust. The casino operated as its own limited partnership, Imperial Palace LLC, under the Trust's oversight. At the time of Engelstad's death, the resort was the second-largest privately owned hotel in the world, with nearly 2,700 rooms and 2,600 employees.[3]

On August 22, 2005, Harrah's Entertainment announced plans to purchase this property. The acquisition was completed on December 23, 2005. During a conference call with investors on November 20, 2005, the Chairman for Harrah's, Gary Loveman, noted that both the Imperial Palace and neighboring O'Sheas "are going to require very substantial modifications or complete tear-downs and rebuilds" in order to make room for a Harrah's and/or Flamingo expansion on the Strip.[9] However, since then, Harrah's has invested millions of dollars into refurbishing both the hotel rooms and the casino itself.

In July 2009, Harrah's announced new plans for the area around the Imperial Palace, O'Sheas, and Flamingo casinos, confirming that the Imperial Palace will not be demolished at this time. Harrah's planned to add approximately 20 restaurants and bars between O'Sheas and the Flamingo.[10]

In August 2011, Caesars Entertainment Corporation announced it will be building a massive entertainment complex adjacent to the Imperial Palace and on the site of O'Sheas casino, called Project LINQ. The Imperial Palace name will be retired and the property renamed.[11]

The Quad (2012-2014)

The Quad

On September 17, 2012, Caesars Entertainment Corporation announced that Imperial Palace would be renamed The Quad Resort and Casino. The official conversion was completed on December 21, 2012.[12][13]

The Linq (2014-present)

In July 2014, Caesars announced that the Quad would be again renamed The Linq Hotel & Casino[14] in order to join the LINQ Promenade, an adjacent shopping and entertainment center that opened in January 2014, following a $223 million renovation of the property.[15] The hotel and casino were officially renamed on October 30, 2014.[16]

Film history

Attractions

The Linq Promenade

The Linq Promenade is an open-air retail, dining, and entertainment district located between The Quad and Flamingo resorts that began a soft open in January 2014. On October 30, 2014, The Quad joined the shopping center and was renamed The Linq.

The High Roller

For more details on this topic, see High Roller (Ferris wheel).

On March 31, 2014, Caesars Entertainment opened the 550-foot-tall High Roller, The World's Tallest Observation Wheel at The LINQ Promenade.

O'Sheas Casino

O'Sheas Casino targets, and typically draws, a younger crowd in its 20s and early 30s. The casino offered low minimums on table games, a poker room, and a World Series of Beer Pong branded beer pong area. Before being purchased by Harrah's, O'Sheas branded itself as having low minimums and liberal rules on table games, thus attempting to draw "locals" and savvy, low-minimum gamblers. After the acquisition by Harrah's, O'Sheas generally offered the least advantageous table games in Nevada (i.e., bad for players), especially on Blackjack (where Blackjack only paid 6:5 on all games), and had branded itself as a "party" casino.[18] The casino offers 5 beer pong tables in addition to the other games.

The Auto Collections

1930 Cord, part of the Auto Collections

The Auto Collections at the Linq is the world's largest classic car showroom, with more than $25 million worth of inventory on display and for sale. More than 250 antique, classic, muscle and historically significant cars are on display and nearly all are for sale.

Besides being the world’s largest classic car showroom this unique tourist attraction also serves as a museum, allowing visitors the opportunity to get personally acquainted with vehicles otherwise only featured on photographs or the silver screen. The 250 automobiles displayed on 125,000 sq ft (11,600 m2) of space provide an excellent insight into the history of the industry and include antique exemplars from the early 20th century, elegant post-war limousines, high-end sports cars from the last decades as well as everything else in between. Most of these vintage cars are also fully operational and available for purchase. Prices vary dramatically depending on many factors and range from as low as $30,000 to several million dollars for the especially rare pieces in the collection.

Some of the cars presented here include those once driven by famous celebrities or utilized by state officials, such as the 1955 Lincoln Capri Convertible owned by Marilyn Monroe, the 1939 Chrysler Royal Sedan formerly belonging to Johnny Carson or the 1962 Lincoln Continental Towne Limousine serving President John F. Kennedy.

This exhibition is located on the 5th floor of the garage at the Linq Resort & Casino and can be visited daily between 10am-6pm. It takes approximately 2 hours to view the showroom. Audio tours are also available for rental and photography is permitted.[19]

Shows

Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas

Frank Marino's Divas Las Vegas is a drag revue starring Las Vegas' longest-running headliner, Frank Marino,[20] who hosts the revue as his most famous impersonation, Joan Rivers.[21] The show moved to the Imperial Palace from the Riviera Hotel and Casino in 2010.[22]

Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly

Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly stars Mat Franco, the season nine winner on NBC's America's Got Talent. In the newly renovated Linq Theater, Franco performs multiple tricks involving audience participation, as well as a number of up-close magic tricks.[23]

Dealertainers

Beginning in 2003,[24] the casino had approximately eight blackjack tables on the lower level that featured celebrity impersonators as dealers. These impersonators, which included Joliet Jake from the Blues Brothers, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Cher, Shakira, Roy Orbison, Zac Brown, Shania Twain, Britney Spears, Buddy Holly, and others, alternated dealing cards and performing a song on a small stage in the center of the tables. The Dealertainers pit was discontinued as of September 8, 2014.[24]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nonrestricted Square Footage Report (PDF) (Report). Nevada Gaming Commission. January 13, 2012. p. 5. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  2. ↑ Nonrestricted Count Report (PDF) (Report). Nevada Gaming Commission. October 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Steffner, Jim (Summer 2006). "The Man and the Palace" (PDF). Casino Chip and Token News. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Ground Is Broken For Luxury Motel". The Arizona Republic. June 6, 1959. Retrieved June 29, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ Velotta, Richard N. (July 1, 2014). "Caesars to spend $223 million on revamping Quad, rebranding it as Linq hotel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Clark County Department of Building & Safety" (PDF). www.dsnet.co.Clark.NV.US. September 26, 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Quinlivan, Mike (July–September 2003). "The Flamingo Capri Revisited" (PDF). Casino Chip and Token News [page 4]. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  8. 1 2 Burbank, Jeff (2005). License to Steal: Nevada's Gaming Control System in the Megaresort Age. University of Nevada Press. pp. 55–79. ISBN 0-87417-624-7.
  9. ↑ Benston, Liz. "North Strip: Birth of a boom?". Casino City Times. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Benston, Liz (12 July 2009). "Harrah's plans new 'street' of bars, eateries near Strip". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Harwood, Elissa. "Inside Gaming: The Linq, Hooters Casino Fights Foreclosure, & Sex and the City". pokernews.com. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  12. ↑ http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58131-caesars-entertainment-reveals-the-quad-resort-and-casino
  13. ↑ http://www.8newsnow.com/story/25920733/quad-hotel-to-get-223m-upgrade-new-name-linq
  14. ↑ http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2014/10/28/145036/39/hotels/Inside_The_LINQ_Hotel_%26_Casino,_Opening_on_October_30
  15. ↑ Don Chareunsy (July 1, 2014). "Caesars Entertainment to transform Quad into Linq Hotel & Casino". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  16. ↑ "Not Just A Name Change For The LINQ". CBS. October 30, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Cassavetes directs : John Cassavetes and the making of Love stream / Michael Ventura. -- Harpenden, Herts. : Kamera Books, 2007. Page 120.
  18. ↑ Review of O'Sheas
  19. ↑ http://www.deesultimatereviews.com/the%20auto%20collections.htm
  20. ↑ As shown in an episode of Plastic Surgery: Before and After featuring a segment on Frank Marino, Discovery Health Channel, first aired May 2005.
  21. ↑ Frank Marino's official web site.
  22. ↑ Weatherford, Mike (26 February 2010). "Interviews: 'Frank Marino: Divas Las Vegas'". LVRJ. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  23. ↑ https://www.caesars.com/linq/events/mat-franco
  24. 1 2 Katsilometes, John (10 September 2014). "The pit is closed for the Dealertainers at the Quad". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 3 November 2014.

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