The Cromwell

The Cromwell is a luxury boutique hotel and casino located on 3595 South Las Vegas Boulevard on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Opening in 2013 (Originally opening in 1979 as the Barbary Coast), the hotel and casino is owned by Caesars Entertainment and is home to Drai's Beach and Nightclub.

## History

### **Before the Cromwell**

First occupying the hotel and casino in 1958 was the Desert Villa Motel, which became the Times Square Motel in 1974. In 1977, the motel was demolished to make way for the new Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino, owned by Michael Gaughan and opened on March 2, 1979.

In 2007, the Barbary Coast was sold to Harrah's Entertainment (Now known as Caesars Entertainment) and was renamed to Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon.

### **Closing and Renovations**

On November 19, 2012, it was announced by Caesars Entertainment that Bill's Gamblin' Hall was going to close on February 4, 2013 for a $185 million year-long renovation into a new luxury boutique hotel and casino featuring a new restaurant named "Giada's", featuring the Food Network celebrity of the same name, a 65,000 square foot rooftop pool and dayclub/nightclub that costed $85 million from Victor Drai. It was expected that the new hotel and casino would open in early 2014 and hold about 1,000 employees. Bill's closed on February 4, 2013.

It was later revealed that the new hotel and casino would be renamed to "The Gansevoort", with a partnership with Caesars Entertainment and the Gansevoort Hotel Group. A large arch-like parking structure was added to the side of the hotel, along with an underground addition to the parking garage. Despite additions, large parts of the original parking garage were also removed, such as the spiral ramp at the side that has existed since the opening.

On October 20, 2013, during the renovation, Caesars Entertainment announced that the new hotel and casino would no longer be under the Gansevoort name after the Gansevoort Hotel Group had arguments with the entertainment corporation. This was due to when a group of gambling regulators from Massachusetts denied Caesars a liscense for a proposed casino at the Suffolk Downs racetrack in the same stage because of alleged connections between the Russian mafia and one of the Gansevoort's investors. E-Mails were sent to the locals of the Las Vegas Valley on informing the loss, under the subject line, "The End: Gansevoort Las Vegas".

On December of 2013, Caesars Entertainent concluded that the Gansevoort would now become the Cromwell, named after a subsurface current in the Pacific Ocean, which was discovered by Townsend Cromwell in 1952. Trademarks for the named was filed on December 6 by the Caesars License Company, along with web domains such as CromwellLV.com, TheCromwellLV.com, CromwellLasVegas.com, and TheCromwellLasVegas.com redirecting to the hotel.

Despite the Cromwell being named after an explorer, controversy of the name arose. On February 28, 2014, Mary Branagan noted that the Cromwell evoked horrible connotations with Oliver Cromwell, an anti-irish supporter in the 1600s who killed thousands of Irish people from 1640-1655. It was also noted that the word "Cromwell" associates with prejudice, hate, and evil in Irish mythology.

### **Opening**

The Cromwell had a soft opening on April 24, 2014, despite hotel rooms being invitation only. The hotel rooms later became open to the public starting a month later on May 21, 2014.

A new sports book was added in 2017.

On July 5, 2018, a failed cable caused both the Cromwell and the Flamingo to lose power at around 2:30 p.m. I twas later restored around 5:35 p.m. No injuries were reported.

On September of 2018, Caesars Entertainment filed trademark protections for the both the Flamingo and the Cromwell in Macau, China. This was so Caesars could expand its international presence, increase its customer loyalty pool, and lessen its reliance on U.S. facilities. This was after the corporation announced that it would be building "Caesars Korea" in 2021, the first Caesars Entertainment-based resort and casino located outside of the United States.

## Restaurants

### **Giada's**

An Italian restaurant owned by the Food Network celebrity, Giada De Laurentiis. The restaurant overlooks the Las Vegas Strip, facing towards the Cosmopolitan and the Bellagio.

## Additional Information

### **Extra Facts**

* The Cromwell is one of the few resorts on the Las Vegas Strip to not include a buffet.

### **Social Media**

* ***Facebook:*** https://www.facebook.com/CromwellVegas/
* ***Twitter:*** https://twitter.com/cromwellvegas
* ***Instagram:*** https://www.instagram.com/cromwellvegas/