Westward Ho Hotel and Casino
| Westward Ho | |
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| Location | Winchester, Nevada 89109 |
| Address | 2900 Las Vegas Boulevard South |
| Opening date | 1963 |
| Closing date | November 17, 2005 |
| Theme | Western |
| No. of rooms | 777 |
| Total gaming space | 56,000 sq ft (5,200 m2) |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Westward Ho Casino, LLC |
| Renovated in | 1971 |
| Coordinates | 36°8′1″N 115°9′57″W / 36.13361°N 115.16583°WCoordinates: 36°8′1″N 115°9′57″W / 36.13361°N 115.16583°W |
| Website | Website |
Westward Ho Hotel and Casino was a casino and hotel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, an unincorporated area of Clark County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Westward Ho was the last large motel style property on the Strip. It was a two-story building with parking surrounding the buildings. The casino had a large number of slot machines, and a gaming pit with live dealers. The games included blackjack, roulette, craps, and Let It Ride.
The Westward Ho opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1963, located between the Stardust resort and the future site of the Slots-A-Fun Casino. The hotel-casino was located on a rectangular 15-acre (6.1 ha) property that stretched west from the Las Vegas Strip to South Industrial Road. The Westward Ho's rooms were located in low-rise motel-style buildings surrounding several pools, all located behind the main casino building that faced the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel-casino was owned and operated by Dean Petersen, along with his siblings, Faye and Murray Petersen. The Westward Ho's name was a reference to 19th century wagon trains heading west.
A casino was added in 1971. The Westward Ho advertised itself as "The World's Largest Motel", and was a financial success for decades after its opening. The casino's interior was featured in the 1996 film, Leaving Las Vegas. In 1996, the Westward Ho paid a disputed $25,000 fine after an undercover Nevada Gaming Control Board agent provided $6,000 to the casino's cashier for safekeeping and then received the money in smaller denominations as requested; to avoid money laundering, Nevada regulations required the same denomination of bills to be returned to the player.
Dean Petersen died in November 1997, at the age of 63. The Westward Ho was put on sale that month. Dean Petersen's sister, Faye Johnson, continued to operate the Westward Ho. In February 1998, it was announced that the Westward Ho and its 15-acre (6.1 ha) property would be purchased by Manhattan-based American Pastime West LLC. Johnson said, "This was an important and emotional decision after our family's longtime involvement with the growth of the gaming community in Las Vegas." The Westward Ho was one of the few Las Vegas hotel-casinos to be owned and operated by a local family. At the time of the sale, the Westward Ho had 650 employees, 777 rooms, a 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) casino and a 900-seat showroom.
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