Oh, look, it’s Palace Station again

O.J. Simpson’s much-ballyhooed visit to Las Vegas gave Palace Station some unwanted publicity.

But not all publicity is bad publicity. The off-Strip casino is probably now more well-known than Bellagio.

The alleged robbery, for which the disgraced Hall of Fame football player charged with 10 felonies, took place in a Palace Station hotel room.

For a week, images of the Palace Station’s exterior and train locomotive marquee were blasted across the nation’s media. Station Casinos spokeswoman Lori Nelson tracked more than 4,000 television news stories that featured video of Palace Station.

If you like the casino at Wynn Macau, then you will love the casino at the Encore, Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman Steve Wynn said.

Wynn said last week that the casino inside the $2 billion Encore, being built next to Wynn Las Vegas, will be similar to the spacious Wynn Macau casino, where half-walls and small boundaries make the casino seem smaller and give customers the feeling of a more intimate setting.

“It’s like you’re playing in a private gaming salon,” Wynn said. “We’re going to bring that to Encore.”

At least one downtown casino owner is excited about the prospect of a new neighbor, even if it means another competitor in the market.

Terry Caudill, owner of the Four Queens who is also buying Binion’s, said he’s looking forward to the revival of the Lady Luck by CIM Group of Hollywood.

“I don’t worry about competition,” he said. “What is good for downtown is good for us.”

CIM has been tight-lipped about specific plans for the Lady Luck, but representatives have met with Caudill and others to introduce themselves downtown.

Caudill said the prospect of more available hotel rooms should be a boost for the area. An estimated 17 million to 22 million people visit the Fremont Street area annually, but only a small percentage stay downtown.

“People talk about how gaming hasn’t grown downtown, but neither has the room space,” Caudill said. “It is pretty hard to attract new customers if you don’t have a room to offer them.”

Nevada Gaming Commission member Art Marshall and Riviera Holdings Chairman Bill Westerman debated at last week’s commission meeting over which well-known entertainer opened for another at the unveiling of the casino’s nine-story hotel tower in the 1950s.

Westerman finally conceded that Marshall was correct — Barbra Streisand opened for Liberace.

“You’re right. You were probably there,” Westerman said.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Review-Journal gaming and tourism writers Howard Stutz, Benjamin Spillman and Arnold M. Knightly. Send your tips about the gaming and tourism industry to insidegaming@reviewjournal.com.