Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino

Imperial Palace is a 2,640 room hotel and a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The hotel and casino were owned by Imperial Palace LLC until purchased by the current owner, Harrah's Imperial Palace Corporation a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment.

'Imperial Palace' at a glance

Address : 3535 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Opening date : 1979

Theme : Chinese/Asian

No. of rooms : 2,640

Total gaming space : 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2)

Signature attractions : The Auto Collections

Casino type : Land-Based

Owner : Harrah's Imperial Palace Corporation

Previous names : Flamingo Capri

Years renovated : 1988 New tower

Website : imperialpalace.com

History

From 1959 to 1979 the property was called the Flamingo Capri. In 1979, it was renamed to the Asian-themed Imperial Palace by new owner Ralph Engelstad. When Engelstad died in 2002, the casino ownership transferred to the Ralph Engelstad and Betty Engelstad Trust. The casino operated as its own limited partnership, Imperial Palace LLC, under the Trust's oversight.

The property underwent a major renovation in 1988 which added an 18-story tower.

On August 22, 2005, Harrah's announced plans to purchase this property. The acquisition was completed on December 23, 2005.

During a conference call with investors on November 20, 2005, the Chairman for Harrah's, Gary Loveman,noted that both the Imperial Palace and neighboring O'Sheas "are going to require very substantial modifications or complete tear-downs and rebuilds" in order to make room for a Harrah's and/or Flamingo expansion on the Strip. However, since then, Harrah's has invested millions of dollars into refurbishing both the hotel rooms and the casino itself.

In July 2009, Harrah's announced new plans for the area around the Imperial Palace, O'Shea's, and Flamingo casinos, confirming that the Imperial Palace will not be demolished at this time.