Westin Las Vegas
| The Westin Las Vegas | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Paradise, Nevada |
| Address | 160 East Flamingo Road |
| Opening date | July 1, 1977 |
| No. of rooms | 825 |
| Total gaming space | 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) |
| Signature attractions | Spa |
| Notable restaurants | "Suede" |
| Casino type | Land-Based |
| Owner | Columbia Sussex |
| Operating license holder | 777 Gaming Westin Hotel |
| Previous names | Maxim |
| Renovated in | 2003 |
| Website | Starwood Hotels |
The Westin Las Vegas is a resort and casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The Westin is managed by Pyramid Hotel Group, under franchise from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, owner of Westin Hotels. It is noteworthy for being one of the first Las Vegas resorts to prohibit smoking in almost all parts of the property; only in a part of the casino is smoking permitted.
The casino floor has fewer than 300 slot and video poker machines and only ten table games, far smaller than Strip megaresorts and even smaller than many casinos catering to local residents. Instead, the resort concentrates more on its hotel amenities, including a destination spa, catering to guests who typically visit other Westin Hotels throughout the world.
The property was originally opened on July 1, 1977 as the Maxim Hotel and Casino. Though smaller than typical Vegas resorts even before today's megaresort era, the Maxim had a popular following because of its attention to personal service. It thrived during the 1980s, but went into decline as flashier, larger resorts opened on the nearby Strip.
The Maxim was the site of the shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Shakur was a passenger in a BMW that was driving in front of the casino, when a man in a Cadillac pulled up and opened fire, gravely wounding the rap star. He died a week later from his injuries.
In 1999, the casino was closed in a dispute between the casino operator and hotel owners. The hotel itself remained open without gaming, until closing entirely in 2001.
Columbia Sussex bought the former Maxim for $38 million then spent an additional $90 million on the remodel. They reopened the hotel as The Westin Casuarina on November 6, 2003, using the name of their successful resort in the Cayman Islands. The Westin Casuarina marked the first Westin resort nationwide to feature a casino and was the first Westin in Nevada.
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