Binion’s, located in Downtown Las Vegas, is shuttering its 365-room hotel effective December 14th. The hotel served as the home of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) until 2005, when the event picked up shop and moved across town to the Rio.
TLC Enterprises owns both Binion’s and the nearby Four Queens on Fremont Street. Company spokesperson Lisa Robinson told Poker News Daily, “We plan to reopen it, but we can’t speculate when that will happen. Las Vegas has been hit so hard with the dramatic drop in visitor spending and the average daily room rate has plummeted. Our hotel rooms were no longer competitive in the market. We had to make cuts where our biggest drains were, the hotel and coffee shop.”
According to the Associated Press, the casino, sports book, and nostalgic poker room will remain open. Also keeping its doors open for business is Binion’s Ranch Steakhouse, which sits on the 24 floor of the building. Conversely, its hotel, coffee shop, and keno parlor will all be closed down. In the process, 100 of Binion’s 800 employees will lose their jobs, or 13% of the casino’s workforce. The property is referring prospective hotel guests to Four Queens, which has nearly 700 rooms.
Poker players were up in arms that the WSOP’s former digs were closing, at least in part. Tournament director Matt Savage commented via Twitter on Monday, “Binions Horseshoe was both hated and loved by poker players over the years, but it is definitely missed by those that played the WSOP there!” The current Binion’s poker room has 10 tables, according to the casino’s website, and 11 televisions. It’s well-known for its Gallery of Champions, which portrays the history of the 40 year-old WSOP.
Binion’s opened in 1951 and, according to the Associated Press, “The aging hotel-casino ran into financial trouble after Benny Binion’s daughter, Becky Behnen, acquired it in 1998. It closed in January 2004 after U.S. marshals seized cash from the casino to pay outstanding employee benefits.” That year, Harrah’s purchased the rights to the WSOP and sold the casino to MTR Gaming Group as Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel. TLC Enterprises has owned it since March of 2008.
At the time of writing, hotel room rates varied between $21 and $23 during the week and $49 to $54 on weekends. All rooms are listed as “Sold Out” beginning on December 14th and availability is displayed through the end of February. TwoPlusTwo poster “dgiharris” noted that he was not surprised to see the hotel go given its antiquated rooms lacking wireless internet: “I argued saying that it is 2009 and everyone, even a mom and pop hotel has at least WiFi but Binion’s said they weren’t interested in that. BTW, their [internet] kiosk was one of those 1996 credit card <=> internet kiosks that charge you a dollar a minute.”
TwoPlusTwo poster “DayTripping” relayed his experience with an aging television in a Binion’s room, “I stayed there once a couple of years ago. The TV had an actual dial on it. That’s what I remember most and it should tell you something about how up-to-date the rooms were.” No room amenities are listed on Binion’s website, which instead touts the hotel’s 25th floor pool.
In 2005, the final days of the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event took place at Binion’s and, the following year, the entire duration of the schedule played out at the Harrah’s-owned Rio. In 2008, the WSOP Main Event saw its final table delayed four months until early November for the first time ever. The November Nine, as the final table participants are now known, occurred once again in 2009, with 21 year-old Joe Cada ultimately emerging victorious to become the youngest WSOP Main Event champion ever, earning $8.5 million.
Not much of a Merry Christmas for the employees who will be laid off 2 weeks before the holiday.