Vegas Notes 6/27/2012

1. Possible new names for the Imperial Palace uncovered?

Neon Dice posted a piece a few days ago regarding two trademarks recently registered by Caesars Entertainment, one for "The Quad" and another for "3535" (which happens to be the street address for the Imperial Palace. A quick check on the US Patent & Trademark Office's database confirms these registrations. Here's my thoughts on this:

I don't see these as being possible new names for the Imperial Palace. I see them as names of bars within whatever Caesars Entertainment will be renaming the property. The Quad sounds like the name of a sports bar sort of place and 3535 sounds like the name of a higher end sort of lounge. Renaming the Imperial Palace the 3535 Hotel & Casino just sounds like a.) The Borg Collective that is Caesars Entertainment can't come up with a name. b.) 3535 sounds more like the name of a boutique hotel property or hotel within a hotel (Like Hotel32 at Monte Carlo)and that really doesn't sound like something Caesars Entertainment would operate themselves (Case in point, the upcoming Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace.). c.) Sounds more like a name one might have for an operating company (3535 LLC or something to that effect).

Speculation ever since the Linq project was announced was that the Imperial Palace was going to get the Horseshoe name put on it, but this seems to run counter to how Caesars markets their Horseshoe brand, putting it as one of their higher brands (Several years ago the rumors were that they would rebrand Bally's as a Horseshoe and do a major overhaul of the property.). I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to call it "The Carnaval Hotel & Casino" and tie it in closer with Carnaval Court at Harrah's.


2. A new restaurant from Gordon Bleeping Ramsay to replace Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace.

It's been one of the worst-kept secrets in Vegas since word got out last year that Bradley Ogden was going to close (Rumors were it was supposed to close late last yeat and never did.) and with the praise heaped upon Gordon Bleeping Ramsay Steak at Paris, it probably put the wheels in motion to hasten the closure of Bradley Ogden (Somewhere I never ate at by the way, as I typically hadn't give the restaurants at Caesars Palace much of a thought.), which comes on August 5th.

I'm sure Bradley Ogden will resurface at another Las Vegas property not too long after his namesake restaurant closes. Perhaps he'll pop up over at Encore, as Switch will be closing on July 22, with an unnamed new restaurant to replace it come December.

3. Terminal 3 at McCarran opens today (6/27/12).

It doesn't affect me much, as Delta will still be at the D Gates and their ticketing and baggage will remain at Terminal 1 (United and Hawaiian will have their ticketing and baggage at T-3 but will operate out of the D Gates (United is still where they were on D and Hawaiian will be moving to D in August after a brief stay on the A gates along with Omni Air International, whose flights will move to B.). If you fly to Vegas on JetBlue, Frontier, Sun Country or Virgin America, those airlines will continue to operate from their current gates until July 31st, when they move to Terminal 3.

Some folks questioned whether they needed to build Terminal 3, especially after US Airways gutted their former hub operations there and the drop in travel in the wake of the ongoing economic situation. It was needed, as while the economy and travel are down, that's when it's best to build projects like this to meet expected demand down the road plus material costs and labor costs are lower as well. It gives a better first impression to international travelers than the old Terminal 2.

With several airlines that currently operate out of the D Gates moving to Terminal 3, there is likely to be some gate changes on D. United should be able to consolidate their operations in the wake of their merger with Continental. AirTran has already relocated to the B Gates with corporate sibling Southwest as they are slowly integrated into Southwest. There have been reports of US Airways moving to the D Gates as well and the A Gates being shuttered. If the A Gates do in fact get shuttered, and with Terminal 2 slated for demolition, perhaps that part of the airport gets a new A Gates facility five to ten years down the road. The proposed second Vegas Valley passenger airport at Ivanpah is probably shelved for at least another 20 years or more.