As We See It

Welcome to Palms Station? Our ideas for the off-Strip hotel’s next chapter

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Station Casinos purchased the Palms for $312.5 million.
Illustration: Jon Estrada

Station Casinos’ $312.5 million purchase of the Palms is a blockbuster move that might have seemed like a surprise but makes so much sense.

In the Palms’ heyday, when George Maloof was running the West Flamingo joint and after its star-making turn on MTV’s The Real World, it was a celeb-buzzing hot spot at night and a locals’ casino during the day. It might not be the cool place to be anymore—kinda the Vegas equivalent of Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame theory—but it’s got great bones, underutilized spaces, and a prime location; Station’s CFO Marc Falcone called it a “hybrid gaming property,” because it appeals to both tourists and locals, and both of those markets are on the rise.

But once the acquisition is complete, what will Station do with the Palms? Introduce some of the tried-and-true amenities from the neighborhood casinos? Or go all-out for the tourists, since this is the closest the company has ever been to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip? Naturally, we have a few ideas.

Turn the old Playboy Club space into a bowling alley.

Swap out some of the generic food-court options for superior or locally owned restaurant brands.

Reopen Rain Nightclub with a focus on locals. It could work.

Here’s what you should change about N9NE Steakhouse: nothing.

The Palms Place pool could start hosting LGBT parties on Saturdays.

Since Palms Place used to house Kerry Simon’s spot, why not turn its restaurant over to the late chef’s partners for Carson Kitchen, part deux?

The Pearl could once again book acts familiar to people under 45.

Open the legendary Hardwood Suite for games of H-O-R-S-E.

Here’s what you should change about Alizé: nothing.

Ditch Fridays? How about Ditch Tuesdays. For real.

Pay tribute to the Palms’ glory days by having Dennis Rodman and Paris Hilton host the grand reopening of Rain Nightclub. Or maybe not.

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