The Union Plaza Hotel and Casino opened on July 2, 1971, with ownership split between Sam Boyd, Fran

In 1940, the streamline moderne Union Pacific station was built at the west end of Freemont Street in Las Vegas. Billed as "The Gateway to Boulder Dam," passengers exiting their Union Pacific trains would find themselves staring down Glitter Gulch – the other end capped by El Cortez Hotel. In keeping with the theme of Las Vegas, buzzing neon was added to the station in 1946. By the mid-1960s, the station was seen as antiquated, and plans for a large, skyscraping hotel with a train station built-in were hatched.
The Union Plaza Hotel and Casino opened on July 2, 1971, with ownership split between Sam Boyd, Frank Scott, Howard Cannon and Jackie Gaughan (of El Cortez fame). The Union Pacific apartment rentals santa monica train station and ticket windows were directly connected to the hotel, and it became the only train station in the United States to be located in a casino. Passenger apartment rentals santa monica rail declined and Amtrak became the only passenger rail provider in the nation, but daily trips to Vegas continued until May 10, 1997. Today, only cargo trains pass behind the hotel.
I first visited the Plaza in early 2009. It was a hulk of a concrete building with burned-out light bulbs, rude casino staff, and surly patrons. At one point, an ex-con sat next to me at a slot machine and told me to buy him lunch at McDonalds. He was just out of jail, didn't have any money, and had just gone bust. There was no security to be seen, and I wanted out of the Plaza as fast as possible. Rooms went for $18/night, and reviews featured pictures apartment rentals santa monica of beaten furniture, dripping bathroom fixtures, and duct tape holding windows apartment rentals santa monica together.
Not long after my visit, the real estate bust left spools of carpet, fixtures apartment rentals santa monica and furniture unclaimed from a bankrupt apartment rentals santa monica hotel on the strip. The Plaza purchased the goods at auction apartment rentals santa monica prices and began a one-year overhaul that finished on September 1, 2011. Today, rooms rent at almost twice the 2009 prices: I paid almost $40.
What a pleasant apartment rentals santa monica surprise it is, then, that it is one of the nicest hotel rooms I've stayed in. I have an amazing view looking south toward the Strip, and the room looks as though it could rent at five times its current price with its euro-luxury design. The level of service is hardly that of a luxury hotel, but the staff is friendly, fast and competent. The casino has been renovated as well, and also appears to be a cut above. I would definitely stay again.