Key Largo (also known as

Quality Inn Choice Hotels brands Quality Inn is an American multinational chain of hotels based in Rockville, Maryland. It is a part of Choice Hotels International family of brands which has operations in more than 40 countries. Quality Inn is the foundin ...

Key Largo Casino) was a hotel and casino located on of land at 377 East Flamingo Road, one mile east of the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

, in

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

. The property began in 1974, as the Ambassador Inn hotel. A casino was added in 1978. The property underwent numerous name changes up to 1997, when it was reopened as the Key Largo. The property closed in 2005, to make way for a new high-rise project that failed to materialize. After years of sitting vacant, Key Largo was partially destroyed in a 2013 fire and was subsequently demolished.

History

Years of operation (19742005)

The property was built and opened in 1974, as the Ambassador Inn, part of a hotel chain. A casino called Ambassador Casino opened on the property in 1978, while the hotel retained the Ambassador Inn name. In 1981, the Ambassador Inn was sold to new owners, and received a $1 million renovation a year later. In June 1982, the Ambassador Casino filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

. The hotel was unaffected, as it was owned by a separate company. The Ambassador Casino closed at 6:00 a.m. on September 7, 1982, because of financial problems caused by a lack of tourism and a poor local economy. At that time, the casino had 80 employees, six blackjack tables, one craps table, and 140 slot machines. The 315-room hotel, bar and restaurant were also closed, but were expected to reopen in a couple of days. The casino was reopened, by Nicholas Robone and his family, as the La Mirage Casino in January 1986. The family had been approved for a two-month gaming license, giving state regulators enough time to investigate an anonymous tip that Nicholas Robone had skimmed money while previously working at the Continental hotel-casino across the street. The skimming charges were not proven. In March 1986, the Robone family was approved by Nevada for a 12-month limited gaming license. Nicholas Robone and his wife Mary held 47.5 percent of the casino, while their son, Anthony Robone, held five percent and was the casino's manager. In 1987, Allen Rosoff sued La Mirage for

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

. Rosoff was the owner of the Mirage Motel, which he had been operating at the south end of the

since 1953, and claimed that La Mirage's name was causing confusion among his prospective customers. Rosoff won a permanent

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

against La Mirage. However, La Mirage was granted a

stay of proceedings Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a ...

until it could appeal the case to the

Nevada Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Nevada is the highest state court of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the head of the Nevada Judiciary. The main constitutional function of the Supreme Court is to review appeals made directly from the decisions of the distric ...

. In 1988, as La Mirage was appealing the case, businessman

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

purchased the Mirage name from both businesses to avoid confusion with his upcoming Mirage resort, which opened on the Las Vegas Strip a year later. Both businesses received $250,000 to stop using the name as of July 1, 1988. That year, the Ambassador Inn hotel became a

, while the casino was renamed Anthony's Casino. In 1993, the name changed to Quality Inn & Casino. During 1997, the property was given a $7 million renovation and a

south Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

theme. The hotel-casino reopened as the Key Largo on August 29, 1997, with three table games, 248 slot machines, 150 employees, and 320 rooms. The hotel remained a part of the Quality Inn chain. If successful, there were plans to expand the casino and add a hotel tower, both on vacant land directly west of Key Largo. A

sportsbook In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, ...

opened at the casino in 1999. Key Largo's low prices appealed to tourists and local residents, as the property was known for its $1.99 hamburgers and cheap hotel accommodation. In October 2004, plans were approved for two high-rise towers to be constructed on the property: a 70-foot hotel tower with 344 rooms, to replace the existing hotel and its 314 rooms; and a 196-foot condominium tower with 905 units. It was not clear if the casino would be demolished or integrated into the proposed project.

Closure (20052013)

Key Largo closed on the night of January 18, 2005, although many operations at the property had ceased earlier in the day. Approximately 200 people worked at the hotel-casino, which featured 245 slot machines, four blackjack tables, and a roulette wheel. The casino's sportsbook was closed a week earlier, on January 12, 2005. Anthony Curtis of the ''Las Vegas Advisor'' opined that Key Largo would not be missed significantly, stating that while it had loyal customers, it was not nearly as popular as its nearby competitors,

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

and Terrible's Hotel and Casino. Key Largo casino

In June 2005, the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. The commi ...

approved design plans for the new resort and condominium project, allowing for the demolition of Key Largo. The project would include a casino and three towers, with its tallest building standing 41 stories high. The new project failed to materialize, and Key Largo was left to deteriorate. By June 2007, the casino's gaming license had expired. Because of new laws, the property would need to add at least 200 hotel rooms, a 24-hour restaurant, and of public space to qualify for a new license. The property was ultimately put up for sale at a price of $79 million. The price was later lowered to $48 million. On the night of May 12, 2008, a man started a fire at the abandoned hotel-casino while attempting to steal copper wiring. The man was unaware that the power was still active and suffered burns on over 80 percent of his body.

Fire and demolition (2013)

On the afternoon of March 28, 2013, a fire broke out at the closed hotel-casino. The fire was reported around 3:05 p.m. Because of the fire, East Flamingo Road was closed between Koval Lane and Paradise Road for several hours by the

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as the LVMPD or Metro) is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, ...

. A total of 117 firefighters worked to contain the fire, which caused approximately $4.5 million in damage. Fire crews stayed on the property late into the night to contain the fire. Fire investigators worked with agents from the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...

(ATF) to determine the cause of the fire. An initial investigation revealed that two fires originated separately at the south and north ends of the property. Severe damage, such as a collapsed roof on the property's northern side (formerly the casino floor), slowed down the investigation. Clark County Building Official Ron Lynn, who believed that the hotel-casino was damaged beyond repair, said there were indications that people had sought shelter inside the abandoned building. During its closure, Key Largo had a history of

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. On March 29, 2013, Clark County ordered the property's owners to demolish Key Largo's remaining structures by April 26, 2013. The owners were also ordered to stabilize or demolish the casino's northern wall by April 19, 2013.

Asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

located inside the building would need to be removed before large-scale demolition work could take place. On March 31, 2013, a search for human remains among the fire-damaged debris concluded with no bodies found. However, multiple squatters were found during the search, which was conducted with

cadaver dogs A search-and-rescue dog is one trained to find missing people after a natural or man-made disaster. The dogs detect human scent and have been known to find people under water, under snow, and under collapsed buildings. Applications A dog w ...

. On April 4, 2013, ATF released a report suggesting that

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

was the cause of the fire. Officials offered a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the responsible party. On April 26, 2013, the property's owners filed demolition plans with the county, and were granted a four-month extension to demolish the hotel-casino. A Clark County spokeswoman said, "It's a pretty complex project because there's asbestos involved. They have to abate the asbestos and then tear down the building. Given the condition of the building, it's hard to get in there, so it's going to take some time." Demolition was underway as of June 2013. Additional demolition work was approved in October 2013.

References

External links

Official website
archived via the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Key Largo Casino Fire (photo gallery)
at

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

{{Las Vegas hotels Buildings and structures demolished in 2013 Hotels in Paradise, Nevada Casinos completed in 1978 Casino hotels Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Defunct hotels in the Las Vegas Valley Hotel buildings completed in 1974 Demolished hotels in Clark County, Nevada 1974 establishments in Nevada 2005 disestablishments in Nevada