People walk by a sign for Horseshoe Las Vegas along the Strip late Friday, March 24, 2023, in Las Vegas. Caesars Entertainment has rebranded Bally's Las Vegas as the Horseshoe Las Vegas hotel. The Horseshoe Las Vegas Hotel Casino and its corporate owner, Caesars Entertainment Corp., hosted ceremonies Friday to mark the name change from Bally's Las Vegas before it hosts the 54th annual World Series of Poker.
The redesigned resort and its latest offerings is something we are proud to introduce, Jason Gregorec, Horseshoe senior vice president and general manager, said in a statement that they are not only excited for guests to experience the redesigned resort and its latest offerings, but they are also proud to reintroduce the historic gaming brand to Las Vegas.
The 2,800-room property was once the MGM Grand Hotel, where a historic fire killed 87 people in 1980. Renovations and renaming harken back to Binion's Horseshoe, a hotel and gambling hall in downtown Glitter Gulch, where the World Series of Poker began.
It also puts the Horseshoe marquee across the street from Bellagio and its fountains, Caesars Palace and its statues and the glittery Flamingo Las Vegas.
Jack Binion, 86, a former casino executive and member of the American Gaming Association and World Series of Poker halls of fame, was to present a lucky horseshoe from his family's ranch at an event also including Jubilee! Costumes recalling the feathery Bally s revue that ran for 35 years before closing in 2016
The first World Series of Poker in 1970 was hosted by Binion's father, the former Texas gambler Benny Binion, as an invitation-only game at his downtown Horseshoe, a 366 room hotel he opened in 1951.
Ted Binion and his brother, Jack Binion, worked at the downtown property, now known as Binion's Gambling Hall Hotel, and was operated by the corporate owner of the neighboring Four Queens. Ted Binion died in 1998 and sparked a sensational murder trial and a cquittal of his ex-stripper, live-in girlfriend and secret lover in 2004.
In 2004 Harrah's Entertainment moved the poker tournament to the Rio All-Suites Hotel Casino. A year later, Harrah's bought Caesars Entertainment, which was purchased in 2020 by Eldorado Resorts, now called Caesars Entertainment Corp. Bally's hotel-casino was part of the deal. The renaming began last year.
The tournament that made championship bracelets and Texas Hold 'em famous now runs for more than seven weeks. A year ago, Bally's and the adjacent Paris Las Vegas drew nearly 200,000 players and awarded almost $350 million in prizes. It is scheduled to start this year on May 30.
After it ends in July, officials said that an 18 table poker room will offer tournament-style play year-round.
The 26-story hotel now named Horseshoe opened as the MGM Grand in late 1973. It had 2,100 rooms and was one of the largest hotels in the world.
The deadly fire seven years later was one of the worst in U.S. history. It resulted in laws requiring fire safety and sprinkler systems in hotels and high-rises. The hotel was reconstructed in 1981 and added a second tower, adding 700 rooms, was completed.
Bally Manufacturing bought the property in 1986. MGM Grand Inc. opened the movie-themed MGM Grand Las Vegas resort in late 1993, and moved a block down the Strip. The 30-floor property, with more than 5,000 rooms and emerald green exterior, opened as the largest hotel complex in the world.
Bally s Corp. is still expected to remain on the Las Vegas Strip at the aging, nearly 1,500-room Tropicana resort, now owned by Rhode Island-based Bally s Corp.