The Plaza Hotel & Casino is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It currently has 995 rooms and suites, an 80,000 sqft casino and more than 25,000 sqft of event space. The Plaza Hotel also has a showroom, rooftop swimming pool, fitness center, bingo room, restaurants, a sports bar, and Oscar's Steakhouse, named after the former Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman.

History

Las Vegas Union Pacific Station

Before the construction of The Plaza, a Spanish-style depot constructed in 1906 acted as the first train station in Las Vegas on the site. Union Pacific replaced the structure in 1940 with a Streamline Moderne station designed by H. L. Gogerty, including a Union Pacific shield and a "Streamliners & Challengers" neon sign. The station was demolished in 1970. The original casino, Union Plaza about the railroad station, included a small waiting room for Amtrak train passengers.

Union Plaza Hotel and Casino

The hotel was built on the station site by Upland Industries (Union Pacific's real estate division), along with the Scott Corp, headed by Frank E. Scott. The hotel opened on July 1, 1971, with the casino opening at midnight, being managed by a team of local casino executives including Sam Boyd, Jackie Gaughan, JK Houssels Jr, and Bill Boyd. It was advertised as the largest casino in the world. With 504 rooms, Plaza's hotel was the same size as Fremont Hotel and merely a third of the size of The International Hotel & Casino, but Plaza contained the largest casino floor in Las Vegas at 66,000 square feet. Before the discontinuation of the Desert Wind train route on May 10, 1997, Amtrak built its Las Vegas station directly connected to the hotel. It was the only train station in the United States in a casino. The Las Vegas Greyhound bus station was also located at the Plaza from the hotel's opening until management terminated the lease and the station moved on February 23, 2021.

Plaza Hotel & Casino

Barrick Gaming Corporation acquired the Plaza from Jackie Gaughan. During his ownership, D.W. Barrick's friend, Larry Manetti, who played Orville "Rick" Wright on the television show Magnum, P.I., hosted a celebrity brunch every Sunday, featuring such guests as Pat Morita and Steve Rossi. He also owned Manetti's in the Plaza. When Barrick sold its interest in the hotel to the Tamares Group in late 2005, Manetti closed his restaurant and severed his relationship with the hotel. On July 1, 2005, then-mayor Oscar Goodman claimed, "If I had my druthers, I would like to have somebody in place to discuss imploding the Plaza." Goodman wanted to see the Plaza replaced with new construction, creating a scenic entrance to Union Park. In the decades since, the Plaza has invested millions of dollars into property improvements, earning Goodman's support. Since 2011, the former mayor has lent his name to the property's steakhouse, which resides in the Plaza's famed glass dome. The hotel closed for renovations on November 11, 2010. It acquired furniture, carpets, and fixtures from the bankrupt Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas project on the Las Vegas Strip. From November 2010 to August 2011, the Plaza operated its sports & racebook, showroom, one bar, and a portion of the casino. By March 2011, the south tower and the casino had finished renovations, re-opening on August 24, 2011. The hotel officially re-opened for business on September 1, 2011. The renovation project cost was $35 million. The property has undertaken numerous renovations and amenity enhancement projects since 2011. In 2014, the Plaza announced that a new 3,500-seat facility would be constructed at the hotel to become the new home arena for the Las Vegas Wranglers minor league hockey team of the ECHL. However, the hockey team suspended operations for the 2014–15 season and would eventually fold mid-season. In 2016, the Plaza fully refurbished its rooftop pool, creating an outdoor space with a wet deck, hot tub, private cabanas, bar, and food truck. The Plaza has 13 pickleball courts, more than any other hotel-casino in Las Vegas. The Plaza built the multipurpose venue CORE Arena, an equestrian center in downtown Las Vegas with 80 equine stalls, which hosts events like rodeos and monster truck shows. CORE Arena has hosted the Las Vegas Days Rodeo in partnership with the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial since 2019. In 2019, a $15 million renovation created more than 100 Luxe guest rooms and suites on the top floors of the North Tower. The Plaza has three 21-story murals by artists Shepard Fairey, D*Face and Faile on its North Tower. In 2023, the Plaza unveiled its Main Street façade renovations, with four new venues. The renovation was centered around Carousel Bar, an outdoor bar with life-sized animated Vegas-themed elements, including moving carousel horses, a 14 ft tall neon sign, a rotating ribbon of lights, and outdoor video poker machines with seating for nearly 100 guests overlooking the Fremont Street Experience. U2 filmed their music video "Atomic City" at Carousel Bar in September 2023. The Main Street renovations also included Pinkbox Doughnuts across from Carousel Bar and a smoke-free gaming area that opened in partnership with Brian Christopher on the other side. Overlooking the new Main Street venues is a rooftop patio at Oscar's Steakhouse, an al fresco fine dining space.

In popular culture

Film

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Music videos

Gambling history