The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa
Hotel chainWestin Hotels & Resorts
General information
LocationParadise, Nevada
Address160 East Flamingo Road
OpeningJuly 1, 1977 (July 1, 1977) (as Maxim)
November 6, 2003 (November 6, 2003) (as Westin)
OwnerHighgate & Cerberus Capital Management
Other information
Number of rooms826
Number of suites13
Website
westinvegas.com

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is a hotel and former casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The Westin is owned by Highgate and Cerberus Capital Management, and uses the Westin brand under franchise from Marriott International. It is noteworthy for being one of the first Las Vegas resorts to prohibit smoking in almost all parts of the property.[1][2]

History

Maxim Hotel (1977-2001)

The property was originally opened on July 1, 1977, as the Maxim Hotel and Casino.[3] It was built at a cost of $25 million by a group of ten Nevada businessmen, including the owners of Reno's Club Cal Neva.[4] 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 was purchased in 1981 by wealthy California farmer John Anderson for $60 million.[5][6][7] It thrived during the 1980s, but went into decline as flashier, larger resorts opened on the nearby Strip. The Maxim Hotel and Casino was a main filming location and setting for a 1987 episode of Matlock, "The Gambler".[8]

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.[9]

In 1998, West Coast Mortgage foreclosed on the Maxim, buying it from Anderson at a price of $15 million.[10] Gaming executive Ed Nigro agreed to operate the property under a five-year lease.[10] West Coast then sold the Maxim to timeshare developer Premier Interval Resorts the following year for $36.5 million.[11][12][13] In November 1999, Nigro closed the Maxim because of a financial dispute with Premier.[14][15] With Premier in default on its mortgage payments, the Maxim was placed into receivership at the request of the mortgageholder, Meralex; two weeks after its closure, the hotel reopened without a casino.[16][17][18] The property again went to foreclosure auction in June 2000, where it was purchased by a Texas-based company, Revanche, for $10 million.[19] A complex legal battle ensued between members of Premier and Meralex; meanwhile, Revanche unsuccessfully sought a buyer for the Maxim.[20] With the hotel continuing to lose money, Revanche closed it on August 13, 2001.[21]

The Westin (2003-present)

Columbia Sussex bought the former Maxim from Revanche for $38 million in 2002,[22] and then spent an additional $90 million on the remodel.[23] They reopened the hotel as The Westin Casuarina on November 6, 2003,[24] 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.[25]

In November 2010, lenders CWCapital Asset Management LLC[26] filed for foreclosure on The Westin Casuarina, after Columbia Sussex stopped making payments on the property's $160 million mortgage in April.[27] 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.[27] 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 Las Vegas company that has operated several rural casinos, including the Carson Station in Carson City. The Carson Station was renamed the Max Casino in 2014, and 777 gaming also is a slot route, for four years beginning in May 2012.[28]

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. Instead, the resort concentrated more on its hotel amenities, including a destination spa.

In January 2016, Fortress Investment Group acquired the property through foreclosure, and brought Crescent Hotels & Resorts in to manage it.[29][30] The hotel announced later that year that it would phase out its casino facilities and operate purely as a hotel.[31] The casino closed in July 2017, to be replaced with a restaurant and expanded meeting spaces.[29][32]

Fortress sold the Westin in September 2018 for $196 million to hotel firm Highgate in partnership with Cerberus Capital Management.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Yancey, Kitty (2005-12-04). "Westin hotels ban smoking". USA Today. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  2. ↑ Stutz, Howard; Ed Vogel (2006-06-07). "SMOKING QUESTION: Worries over ban surface". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  3. ↑ Field, Vic (July 21, 1977). "Maxim Hotel, Casino latest Vegas facility". Valley News. Van Nuys, CA – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Vegas hotel-casino financed within state". Reno Gazette-Journal. April 26, 1977 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Las Vegas casino sale". Arizona Republic. May 1, 1981 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Perlmans sell interest in Dunes hotel-casino". Asbury Park Press. Los Angeles Times. February 7, 1984 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Riley, Brendan (December 18, 1997). "Nevada Gaming Commission to decide tycoon's case". Reno Gazette-Journal. AP – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "S2.E7 The Gambler". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  9. ↑ Tupac Shakur LV Shooting - Thugz-Network.com
  10. 1 2 Seals, Brian (April 17, 1998). "Maxim lender acquires casino". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  11. ↑ Wilen, John (May 18, 1999). "Maxim hotel sold". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  12. ↑ Krane, Elliot S. (August 22, 1999). "Maxim's sale confirmed". The Press of Atlantic City – via NewsBank.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Gary (October 7, 1999). "Maxim hotel-casino to close Dec. 6". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  14. ↑ Thompson, Gary (November 18, 1999). "Attempt to save Maxim fails; closure looms". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  15. ↑ Macy, Robert (November 21, 1999). "Troubled Maxim resort closes Sunday; 690 left jobless". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  16. ↑ Berns, Dave (November 24, 1999). "Maxim reopening under study". Las Vegas Review-Journal – via NewsBank.
  17. ↑ "Maxim hotel to reopen Friday, sans casino". Las Vegas Sun. December 9, 1999. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  18. ↑ Strow, David; Thompson, Gary (December 20, 1999). "Maxim owner, operator trade charges". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  19. ↑ Strow, David (June 2, 2000). "Maxim sold to mystery firm". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  20. ↑ Strow, David (June 22, 2001). "Preparing to close, Maxim entangled in web of suits". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  21. ↑ Strow, David (August 14, 2001). "Finding closure at the Maxim". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  22. ↑ Benston, Liz (September 9, 2002). "New deal announced for sale of Maxim". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  23. ↑ Benston, Liz (2003-06-25). "Former Maxim emerging as 'heavenly' Westin hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  24. ↑ Benston, Liz (2007-11-07). "Westin opens in Vegas". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  25. ↑ Benston, Liz (2003-07-25). "Westin Hotel". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  26. ↑ "Lenders taking over Westin Casuarina Las Vegas hotel-casino - VEGAS INC". 19 October 2011.
  27. 1 2 Green, Steve (19 October 2011). "Lenders taking over Westin Casuarina Las Vegas hotel-casino". Vegas Inc. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. 1 2 Millward, Wade Tyler (February 19, 2018). "Westin Las Vegas replaces casino floor with restaurant". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  30. ↑ "Westin Las Vegas to be managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts" (Press release). Crescent Hotels & Resorts. January 20, 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-20 – via PRWeb.
  31. ↑ "Westin Las Vegas to Dump the Casino and Add a Restaurant". 5 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Jake & Eli Restaurant and More to Westin Las Vegas". 4 August 2017.
  33. ↑ Segall, Eli (September 13, 2018). "Westin hotel near Las Vegas Strip sells for $195.5M". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2018-09-14.

36°06′54″N 115°09′57″W / 36.1151°N 115.1657°W / 36.1151; -115.1657

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