Palace Station is a
hotel and
casino located in
Las Vegas,
Nevada. It is owned and operated by
Station Casinos and has 576 rooms. Palace Station has a large Asian customer base mainly because of its location near
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
.
History
In 1976,
Frank Fertitta Jr.
Frank Joseph Fertitta Jr. (October 30, 1938 – August 21, 2009) was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Station Casinos, a gaming company based in Summerlin South, Nevada. The company started out as a locals casino operator on July 1, ...
, a former general manager at the
Fremont, and his two partners,
opened The Casino, a gambling hall attached to a Mini Price Motor Inn, in an off-
Strip location where few observers expected it to succeed.
In 1977, he added bingo and renamed the property as the Bingo Palace.
The casino was the first to
target a clientele of local residents with offerings like giveaways, cheap buffets and bingo.
It thrived, and Fertitta soon bought out his partners' shares.
Other locals casinos like
Sam's Town and the
Gold Coast followed in later years.
In 1984, the Bingo Palace was expanded and remodeled with a railroad theme, and renamed to the Palace Station Hotel & Casino.
The grand opening ceremony was held on April 6, featuring Governor
Richard Bryan
Richard Hudson Bryan (born July 16, 1937) is an American attorney and politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and cr ...
and the historic locomotive ''
Inyo Inyo may refer to:
Places California
* Inyo County, California
* Inyo National Forest, USA
* The Inyo Mountains
* The Mono–Inyo Craters
Other uses
* Japanese for yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese p ...
''. A train-themed neon sign, measuring wide and high, was constructed for Palace Station.
[ In 1985, Fertitta purchased the adjoining 465-room motel. A 21-story hotel tower and high-rise parking garage were added in 1990, bringing the room count to 1,041.]Boulder Station
Boulder Station is a hotel and casino located in Sunrise Manor, Nevada on Boulder Highway. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos. Groundbreaking began on August 5, 1993. The project was built at a cost of $103 million, and opened on August ...
, the beginning of an expansion that would grow Station Casinos into a billion dollar company. But Fertitta left the firm that same year, turning management over to his sons when it went public.
Early in 2009, Improv Vegas opened at the ''Bonkerz Comedy Club'' which was renamed from the Sound Trax lounge. The tower rooms have recently been remodeled.
On October 17, 2016, employees voted to narrowly reject the unionization of a hotel and casino property by 266 to 262. It was organized by the Bartenders Union and the Culinary Workers Union and supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
. It was the first and only Station Casinos property to not be unionized by a vote margin.
On March 13, 2017, Station Casinos agreed to settle disputes with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Trump administration by letting these employees, the Bartenders Union and the Culinary Workers Union to unionize the property. It is the third Station Casinos property to be unionized.
A $192 million renovation began in fall 2016,[ and was completed two years later. Palace Station remained open during renovations. As part of the renovation, the Palace Station's train theme was removed in favor of a ]modern
Modern may refer to:
History
* Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Phil ...
design.[ Eight faux locomotives on the front of the building were removed,][ and one was donated to the city's Neon Museum, along with a Palace Station neon sign measuring long.][ The 126-foot Palace Station sign was removed during 2018, marking the end of the train theme.][
A grand re-opening celebration, including a fireworks show, was held on September 1, 2018.][ The addition included 500 additional slot machines and a 300-space parking lot on the property's east side. The renovation also featured four new restaurants, including a revamped buffet.]
Incidents
The hotel has seen its share of accidents and misadventures, including a cashier's cage robbery in 1992, a 21st-floor fire caused by lightning in 1998, an armored car robbery in the parking lot in 2009 and most notoriously, the 2007 robbery of sports memorabilia by O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...
and his associates.
Gallery
File:Palace Station aerial.jpg, Palace Station property in 2010
File:Palace Station Las Vegas.jpg, Hotel tower in 2010
File:Palace Station, Las Vegas NV.jpg, Palace Station in 2012
File:Palace Station from afar.jpg, Hotel tower and casino in 2015
References
External links
*
{{Station Casinos
1976 establishments in Nevada
Casino hotels
Casinos completed in 1976
Casinos in the Las Vegas Valley
Hotel buildings completed in 1976
Hotels established in 1976
O. J. Simpson
Skyscraper hotels in Las Vegas
Station Casinos