LINQ Walking Tour
9 discoveries Audio narration
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.
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.
Read the full historySources and context
From Flamingo Capri to Imperial Palace
UNLV MS-00945, Biographical/Historical Note: 1959 motel, Engelstad’s 1971 purchase and additions, November 1, 1979 Imperial Palace name, attractions, 2002 succession, 2005 acquisition and 2012/2014 renamings. Underlying press-kit images not reproduced.
Remembering the 1970s Flamingo Capri
Mike Quinlivan, Casino Chip and Token News, July–September 2003, pages 1–2: firsthand 1974/1976 stays, motel and casino configuration, and distinction from the neighboring Flamingo. Later recollection is not used to assign an exact first casino-opening date.
The completed 2005 Imperial Palace acquisition
Harrah’s Exhibit 99.1, printed page 63, Imperial Palace paragraph: actual December 23, 2005 acquisition and location between Harrah’s and Flamingo. Acquisition price including costs is not conflated with headline purchase price.
The Quad and the staged LINQ reopening
Caesars Acquisition Company 2014 Form 10-K, Properties, printed pages 45–46: 2012 Quad name, October 30, 2014 LINQ reopening and rooms still under renovation. The anticipated 2015 work is identified as a forecast.
The operator’s 2026 LINQ hotel offering
Caesars April 2, 2026 announcement identifies LINQ and neighboring Harrah’s as operating hotels. Expired summer offers and prices are not current visitor information.
The dated source photograph
Jeremy Thompson’s July 4, 2017 photograph of the Strip-facing facade, originally posted to Flickr and transferred to Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 2.0. The advertisement and signs record that period.
The representative current building-area location
Named and addressed building geometry retrieved October 20, 2026. Existing qualified point lies within the mapped building. Current geometry does not prove original historical walls, a visitor entrance, the full grounds or access.
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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