Plaza Casino Unveils Downtown Las Vegas Redevelopment Plans

Posted on: December 2, 2020, 03:47h. 

Last updated on: December 2, 2020, 04:41h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

The Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas plans to convert a soon-to-be vacated bus terminal into a space for entertainment and more. The move is yet another step in reviving the historic downtown casino district.

Plaza Hotel and Casino
The Plaza Hotel and Casino, seen here, was opened on Main Street in downtown Las Vegas in the early 1970s. The resort is planning to build restaurants and more in an adjacent converted bus station. (Image: KLAS-TV)

The Greyhound bus terminal, on Main Street next to the Plaza, is expected to be vacated by the middle of 2021.

The Plaza has begun discussions with developers to convert the 48,500-square-foot terminal into a dining, entertainment, and retail space, according to a news release from the Plaza.

In a tweet, Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel said this development is “arguably one of the most important in decades” for the area.

The Plaza opened in 1971 at the site of the now-demolished Union Pacific passenger train depot. At one time, the resort was called the Union Plaza. Railroad tracks still run behind the hotel-casino.

The Plaza and city of Las Vegas also are planning to construct a four-block pedestrian pathway to connect the resort to a new bridge over the train tracks. The bridge, to be built by the city, will connect the pedestrian pathway to residential and commercial development at Symphony Park.

Downtown Revival

These projects represent a continuation of construction downtown. Circa Resort recently held a grand opening at its property on Fremont and Main streets across from the Plaza.

The adults-only Circa is the first hotel-casino to be built from the ground up in downtown Las Vegas in 40 years. The gaming areas at Circa opened Oct. 28. More than 500 of the resort’s 777 hotel rooms will be open by the end of the year, according to Circa owner Derek Stevens.

Circa is at the northwest corner of the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall covered by a lighted canopy.

The canopy recently featured a tribute to retired Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, who died Friday from smoke inhalation at a house fire in Connecticut. The 46-year-old Hsieh has been credited with spending millions to help revive downtown Las Vegas.

Last month, the city completed construction on lighted gateway arches at the base of the Strat Hotel, Casino and SkyPod. The 80-foot-tall gateway arches are part of the city’s redevelopment efforts to attract visitors to the downtown area. The largest resorts in the region are on the Las Vegas Strip, outside city limits.

The city’s gateway arches are at the opposite end of the Strip from the iconic 1959 “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign.

Historic Glitter Gulch

Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas is lined on both sides with casinos. This historic area is known as Glitter Gulch.

Among the longtime resorts on the street is Binion’s, known as the Horseshoe when former Texas outlaw Benny Binion owned it. For years, the Horseshoe received widespread recognition as home of the World Series of Poker.

Also downtown is the El Cortez, a casino that Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and other mobsters briefly owned in the mid-1940s.