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Vegas Retold

The history of The Vanderpump Hotel

Opened March 2, 1979

The Cromwell name above its entrance in June 2015, with people outside and part of the neighboring Flamingo sign at left.
The same property’s Cromwell entrance on June 5, 2015, before its Vanderpump renovation and renaming.

Ken Lund / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

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

The Vanderpump Hotel occupies the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, across from Caesars Palace. Its casino history began as Michael Gaughan’s Barbary Coast on March 2, 1979. Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon, the Cromwell and the Vanderpump Hotel are later names and renovations of this continuing property, rather than four hotels that successively replaced one another.

From Barbary Coast to Bill’s

UNLV’s archival history traces ownership from Gaughan’s Coast Casinos through Boyd Gaming to Harrah’s Entertainment. In February 2007, Boyd exchanged the Barbary Coast for land adjoining its planned Echelon development farther north on the Strip. The transaction changed ownership; it did not move the hotel. The corner property took the Bill’s name that year.

The Cromwell renovation

Bill’s closed on February 4, 2013, for conversion into the Cromwell. The work remodeled its rooms, casino and common areas, added a second-floor restaurant and created a rooftop pool and club complex. The operator’s financial filing distinguishes the gaming floor’s April 21, 2014 opening from hotel rooms becoming available on May 21. This was a renovation and repositioning of the existing hotel-casino.

The Vanderpump transformation

Caesars announced another transformation in March 2025, this time with Lisa Vanderpump and designer Nick Alain. Their scheme redesigned the boutique hotel’s rooms and public spaces. The operator’s June 2026 account describes chandeliers from the earlier resort being refitted with new crystals and shades: an example of older features reused within the new design.

The 2026 debut

The Vanderpump Hotel celebrated its official grand opening on June 11, 2026. That ceremony should not be confused with the first day guests stayed during the transition; earlier reservation announcements had offered May arrivals. It remains an operating hotel-casino in October 2026. Vanderpump’s restaurants at Caesars Palace, Paris and Flamingo are separate venues.

Reading the earlier photograph

The retained historical photograph records the Cromwell entrance on June 5, 2015. Its lettering and the neighboring Flamingo sign place the image in that earlier period, before the Vanderpump redesign. The map marks the approximate current building area, not an entrance or a reconstruction of every earlier wall.

  1. The Barbary Coast and Bill’s chronology

  2. The completed 2007 land exchange

  3. The Cromwell’s renovation and staged opening

  4. The announced Vanderpump transformation

  5. The documented 2026 grand opening

  6. The dated entrance photograph

  7. The representative building-area location

  8. Reservations offered before the ceremony

What remains uncertain

  • UNLV dates the Bill’s reopening to March 2, 2007, while an indexed operator filing describes business commencing March 1. This history uses the year for that name change.
  • June 11, 2026 is the documented official grand-opening celebration, not an established first guest-arrival day. Earlier May reservation availability does not prove the exact first stay.
  • The historical photograph shows the Cromwell entrance in June 2015; the main illustration interprets the later Vanderpump exterior. The building-area map is approximate and does not establish visitor access.
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