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Vegas Retold

The history of The LINQ Hotel + Experience

Opened 1959

The LINQ name on a perforated geometric facade, beside a large Mat Franco advertisement, palms and the Strip in July 2017.
The LINQ’s Strip-facing facade and Mat Franco advertisement on July 4, 2017. This dated photograph does not establish current signs or show schedules.

Jeremy Thompson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Image source· License

Original photograph retained without editorial alteration. Responsive displays may resize and crop the presentation.

The LINQ Hotel + Experience began as the Flamingo Capri motel in 1959. Casino development and repeated expansion followed. The Imperial Palace, the Quad and the LINQ names mark later phases of that property; the 1959 hotel origin should not be mistaken for the opening of today’s casino building.

From motel to casino resort

Ralph Engelstad bought the Flamingo Capri in 1971 and developed it over the following years. Casino facilities were operating during the 1970s: Mike Quinlivan’s published recollections describe stays in 1974 and 1976, with a motel, pool, restaurant and casino. Despite its name, the Capri was separate from the neighboring Flamingo resort.

The Imperial Palace years

On November 1, 1979, the expanded property became the Imperial Palace, adopting a name suited to its East Asian architectural theme. UNLV’s collection history recalls its Auto Collections, Legends in Concert tribute shows and celebrity-costumed blackjack dealers known as Dealertainers. These attractions gave the hotel a recognizable entertainment identity alongside its casino and growing accommodation.

The 2005 acquisition

After Engelstad’s death in 2002, his widow and trustees continued the property. Harrah’s Entertainment acquired the Imperial Palace assets on December 23, 2005, as its SEC disclosures record. The acquisition placed this resort within the operator’s adjoining Strip holdings. Ownership and management changed; the site did not become the separate Harrah’s hotel next door.

The Quad and LINQ renovations

The Imperial Palace became the Quad in 2012 during a renovation linked to the new LINQ entertainment district. Another phase brought the LINQ Hotel & Casino name on October 30, 2014. The company’s 2014 filing records that reopening while additional rooms were still being renovated. A new name and ribbon-cutting did not mean that every part of the refurbishment was already finished.

Reading the present site

The LINQ remains an operating hotel-casino in October 2026. Its neighboring promenade and High Roller belong to the surrounding entertainment district, rather than the original Flamingo Capri motel. The retained historical July 2017 photograph shows the Strip-facing facade and a Mat Franco advertisement from that period. The map identifies the current hotel-building area; it does not establish the outlines of all earlier motel buildings or an entrance route.

  1. From Flamingo Capri to Imperial Palace

  2. Remembering the 1970s Flamingo Capri

  3. The completed 2005 Imperial Palace acquisition

  4. The Quad and the staged LINQ reopening

  5. The operator’s 2026 LINQ hotel offering

  6. The dated source photograph

  7. The representative current building-area location

What remains uncertain

  • The 1959 opening refers to the Flamingo Capri motel. Casino additions, the 1979 Imperial Palace phase and the 2014 LINQ rebranding are different events; no single unchanged casino building is implied.
  • The 2014 filing forecasts further openings in 2015. That forecast is not treated here as proof of an exact completion day for every later room or amenity.
  • The current hotel map point does not reconstruct earlier motel footprints, the promenade, High Roller or separate O’Sheas premises. Their individual site histories require separate bindings.
  • The July 2017 photograph records a past facade and advertisement; it does not establish current shows, signage, access or performance times.
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