Official at Last: The Quad Las Vegas Will Become The Linq Hotel & Casino

By Scott Roeben, on July 02 2014
3 min read 9 comments
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Hey, we aren’t always right about everything, but when we are right about something, you can bet your ass we’re going to brag about it.

Back in October of 2013, we reported hearing from extremely inside sources that The Quad, formerly the Imperial Palace, would be renamed. Again. (The Imperial Palace became The Quad on December 21, 2012, at a cost for the rebranding of about $2.3 million.)

Caesars Entertainment has now, finally, confirmed The Quad will be renamed the Linq Hotel & Casino.

Linq Hotel & Casino
It appears the new Linq Hotel & Casino will cater almost exclusively to translucent travelers.

Casinos don’t get new names, of course, if the current name is working. The Quad was a misfire from the start, on any number of levels. First, one meaning of “Quad” is “four.” Four is bad luck to Asian gamblers. Asian gamblers are sort of important to casinos in Las Vegas.

Also, The Quad brings to mind college life, but because of responsible gaming policies, Caesars Entertainment was never able to market to college-age customers. Oops.

The Linq Hotel name made the most sense from the beginning, but internally it was thought the name would cause confusion given the proximity to The Linq shopping district. Apparently, those concerns have now been set aside. (The runners up in the name game, by the way, were H.Q. and Rendezvous, but The Quad prevailed.)

Imperial Palace
The name before the one that’s now going to be something else. Before that, from 1959 to 1979, it was the Flamingo Capri.

It will cost $223 million to “reimagine” the Quad into the Linq Hotel & Casino, which includes long-awaited room renovations (see below).

We’d expect the renovations will dramatically increase the price of rooms at what has, for some time, been the go-to mid-Strip hotel for value-seekers. Introductory rates at the Linq Hotel have been advertised “from $89 a night.” (Just try and find that rate. We double dare you.)

Linq Hotel & Casino
Is there any chance those letters on the wall spell out “Jackass”? Please, oh, please.

The Quad will change over to the Linq Hotel & Casino on October 30, 2014. The hotel will have 2,256 rooms, including 204 suites.

The fate of the hotel’s beloved, and Petri dish-like, Luv Tubs is, alas, unknown.

The Quad
The Quad can fairly easily be “reskinned,” as large portions of the building are wrapped in vinyl. The vinyl can just be swapped out to match the new look.

Despite the misstep in the naming of The Quad, the hotel itself has made some huge positive improvements in recent months, most notably the return of O’Sheas (a smashing success from day one), and two inviting bars, Catalyst Bar and Tag Lounge and Bar.

Tag Bar
Tag Bar. This ain’t your racist grandpa’s Imperial Palace.

We won’t step foot into the hotel’s Chayo Mexican Kitchen due to some world-class dipshittery, but loved our visit to the new Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar and Squeeze, the hotel’s juice bar. The hotel also has a Hash House A Go Go restaurant.

The diverse, but consistently entertaining, shows at The Quad should get a nice boost from a rebranded (and finally completed) hotel, including “Divas Las Vegas,” Jeff Civillico’s Comedy in Action and “Recycled Percussion.”

Jeff Civillico
We’re only including our buddy Jeff Civillico in this blog post because he gets so excited when we talk about him.

The casino’s sports book has been relocated, and is now more accessible and comfy, and the Quad’s (it’s not the Linq Hotel quite yet) “dealertainers” are still crowd-pleasers.

There are more changes to the casino planned, including another bar, described as a “casino lobby bar.” We’re thinking that’s going to be the 3535 Bar (Caesars trademarked the name some time ago), but if we’re wrong, this is a blog, so we’ll just change that prediction later and nobody will know the difference. There’s a big space in the middle of the casino, enclosed by a construction wall (see below). We keep poking our head in, but have never seen an progress on this new lobby bar, even as other offerings have sprung up around it.

The Quad
Let’s get moving, dudes in hard hats! We need more Las Vegas newness.

The Quad’s shopping promenade has closed and appears to be getting a significant revamp.

Overall, we’re pleased to see this hotel getting a much, much better name. Or at least one that makes more sense.

The $223 million isn’t new debt for Caesars Entertainment as far as we know, so it won’t add to the company’s $23 billion debt load. Hopefully, the renovations of The Quad will be completed before the company’s upcoming bankruptcy reorganization. (Again, it’s the Internet. If we’re wrong, we’re wrong, but if we’re right, we’re awesome.)

There’s no denying The Linq shopping district, with its High Roller Ferris wheel, has created a new reason to visit The Strip and Las Vegas. We look forward to seeing what’s in store at the Linq Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.