The Las Vegas Hilton To Be Renamed!

Both the Review-Journal and VegasInc is reporting today that Hilton Worldwide is terminating its franchising agreement with the folks who own the las Vegas Hilton, effective the end of 2011. Chuck at VegasTripping.Com, in an item referencing the R-J piece, wrote that this means the Hilton will have to change its name. The R-J report says no such thing -- gigantic, glaring omission, bro -- but Liz Benston in VegasInc does.

This is kind of a pretty big deal. That sign alone cost $8 million and was the most expensive marquee ever when it was built. Other than the Barbary Coast-Bill's and Aladdin-PlanetHo name-changes -- both brought on by ownership changes -- can you recall another property losing its identity? I mean, the Flamingo Hilton became the Flamingo, but big whoop. And, yeah, the Las Vegas Hilton was originally the International. So there's that.

I have a few ideas, though! Since they're always pimping the Elvis connection over there, the Elvis-a-Rama is presently available. Or maybe it's time to create an Electric Daisy Resort so at least the peace-loving stoners will have a place to rest their weary heads next time the slither on by these parts. Or, given that the property almost stretches far enough north, could this be the New Sahara? I'm sure Sam Nazarian would happily liquidate the name along with the toilets for the right, probably not terribly high, price.

My money? Something far more boring. Remember that massive flagship Marriott that's supposed to spring up one of these decades across from the convention center? Well, look it! They can skip the construction costs and all that bother! Hooray!

Trailer Station Tomorrow!

I know many listeners and readers are fascinated by those eight-hour casinos that pop up every so often around town, dubbed by R-J gaming scribe Howard Stutz as a "trailer station" because, as depicted here, they sometimes take place in mobile units.

I'll be out tomorrow working on a feature on one, and it occurred to me that this, unlike most trailer stations, would be amazingly easy for tourists to access.

It's at 365 E. Convention Center Drive, at the corner with Paradise and across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center. That means it's within a few steps of the Las Vegas Monorail, too. They're doing a tent this time, not a trailer, but it's the same concept. They have to do this because Clark County law requires active gambling on a site for 8 hours every 18 months or the property's unrestricted gaming zoning expires.

The downside: The tent will be open for play from 6 am to 2 pm on Wednesday. Someone's getting to bed early!

United Coin will erect a tent with 16 slot machines on behalf of the Marriott gang, which spent $225 million to acquire 14.4 acres in that area in several transactions between 2006 and 2007. The United Coin rep told the gaming commission Marriott wants to build a 3,500-room hotel-casino there, although 14 acres hardly seems like enough for that unless they go Cosmo on us. Also, the only land they don't own is Piero's, so they'd need to buy them out, too, to own the whole block.

I'll Tweet some pix tomorrow. In case you don't recall, here was my New York Times piece from 2008 on the Trailer Station on the old Showboat/Castaways plot. That plot remains as empty as ever.

Here's that blog post, too. I actually won a few pennies that time, too!