Key Largo (hotel and casino)
| Key Largo | |
|---|---|
| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 377 East Flamingo Road |
| Opening date | 1974 |
| Closing date | January 18, 2005 |
| Theme | South Florida |
| No. of rooms | 314 |
| Total gaming space | 9,100 sq ft (850 m2) |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Previous names | Ambassador Inn (1974–1989) Ambassador Casino (1978–1986) La Mirage Casino (1986–1988) Quality Inn/Anthony's Casino (1988–1993) Quality Inn & Casino (1993–1997) |
| Renovated in | 1978 1982 1997 |
| Coordinates | 36°06′49″N 115°09′20″W / 36.113494°N 115.1556344°WCoordinates: 36°06′49″N 115°09′20″W / 36.113494°N 115.1556344°W |
Key Largo (also known as Quality Inn Key Largo Casino) was a hotel and casino located on 4.85 acres (1.96 ha) of land at 377 East Flamingo Road, one mile east of the Las Vegas Strip, in Paradise, Nevada.
The property began in 1974, as the Ambassador Inn hotel. A casino was added in 1978. The property underwent numerous name changes up to 1997, when it was reopened as the Key Largo. The property closed in 2005, to make way for a new high-rise project that failed to materialize. After years of sitting vacant, Key Largo was partially destroyed in a 2013 fire and was subsequently demolished.
The property was built and opened in 1974, as the Ambassador Inn, part of a hotel chain. A casino called Ambassador Casino opened on the property in 1978, while the hotel retained the Ambassador Inn name. In 1981, the Ambassador Inn was sold to new owners, and received a $1 million renovation a year later.
In June 1982, the Ambassador Casino filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The hotel was unaffected, as it was owned by a separate company. The Ambassador Casino closed at 6:00 a.m. on September 7, 1982, because of financial problems caused by a lack of tourism and a poor local economy. At that time, the casino had 80 employees, six blackjack tables, one craps table, and 140 slot machines. The 315-room hotel, bar and restaurant were also closed, but were expected to reopen in a couple of days.
The casino was reopened, by Nicholas Robone and his family, as the La Mirage Casino in January 1986. The family had been approved for a two-month gaming license, giving state regulators enough time to investigate an anonymous tip that Nicholas Robone had skimmed money while previously working at the Continental hotel-casino across the street. The charges were not proven. In March 1986, the Robone family was approved for a 12-month limited gaming license. Nicholas Robone and his wife Mary held 47.5 percent of the casino, while their son, Anthony Robone, held five percent and was the casino's manager.
In 1987, Allen Rosoff sued La Mirage for trademark infringement. Rosoff was the owner of the Mirage Motel, which he had been operating at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip since 1953, and claimed that La Mirage's name was causing confusion among his prospective customers. Rosoff won a permanent injunction against La Mirage. However, La Mirage was granted a stay of proceedings until it could appeal the case to the Nevada Supreme Court. In 1988, as La Mirage was appealing the case, businessman Steve Wynn purchased the Mirage name from both businesses to avoid confusion with his upcoming Mirage resort, which opened on the Las Vegas Strip a year later. Both businesses received $250,000 to stop using the name as of July 1, 1988. That year, the Ambassador Inn hotel became a Quality Inn, while the casino was renamed Anthony's Casino. In 1993, the name changed to Quality Inn & Casino.
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