LAS VEGAS --
Although Harrahs Entertainment will acquire the Imperial Palace
Hotel & Casino by the end of the year, it is business as usual
at the Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace, one of the
propertys major attractions, according to Rob Williams, the Auto
Collections general manager.
Based on
conversations with certain people, were very positive [about our
future], said Williams, whose father, Don, and partner, Richie
Clyne, have owned and operated the attraction for the past six
years. Were not going anywhere.
The Auto
Collections, which contains more than 250 vintage vehicles, is
billed as The Worlds Largest Classic Car Showroom and draws upwards
of 3,000 visitors daily, according to the Imperial
Palace.
As for the hotel,
the property will continue to be operated by the Imperial Palace
until the $370 million deal closes.
There are no
immediate plans for substantial operational changes at the Imperial
Palace by Harrahs, according to a statement issued by the gaming
company.
The hotel had
been privately owned and operated since 1979, when veteran gaming
executive Ralph Engelstad opened it. When Engelstad died in 2002,
the property passed to the Ralph Engelstad and Betty Engelstad
Trust, which struck the deal with Harrahs.
The 2,640-room
hotel, which has a 52,000-square-foot casino, is located between
Harrahs Las Vegas and the Flamingo and across the Strip from
Caesars Palace. All three properties are owned by Harrahs. The
purchase does not include the Imperial Palaces sister property,
Imperial Palace Biloxi in Mississippi.
Meanwhile,
classic car fans visiting the Auto Collections at the Imperial
Palace Hotel & Casino have until Sept. 25 to view a 1954
Chrysler New Yorker once owned by Howard Hughes. The vehicle will
be on sale at the 2005 Hershey Auto Auction, scheduled for Oct. 5
to 8 in Hershey, Pa.
The sky-blue
vehicle, owned by Hughes while he lived at the Desert Inn, has
1,600 miles on its odometer and has been customized with an air
purification system that cost more than its original purchase
price.
For more
information about the vehicle, call (702) 794-3174 or visit www.theautocollections.com.
To contact
reporter Amy Baratta, send e-mail to [email protected].