word on the street...

Now this is potentially BIG news! Only time will tell whether or not it's just a rumor. From the Las Vegas Business Press "Strip Tease" gossip column:

Harrah's and Boyd to swap properties?

WE HEAR ... that Harrah's Entertainment might be positioning itself for a property swap with Boyd Gaming Corp. The land desired by Harrah's would be the 4.3 acres located on the NE corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, where the Barbary Coast stands. In exchange, Harrah's would offer up the Rio Suite Hotel & Casino, cash, and a casino to be named later (Westward Ho, anyone?). The acquisition would give Harrah's, owners of Caesars Palace and Bally's Las Vegas, full control of three of the four corners at one of the busiest gaming intersections in the world. Although it takes a few years for trades to be analyzed (see "Billy Ball" by Michael Lewis), Strip Tease likes Boyd as the immediate winner. The Rio site would give it 88 1/2 acres, a lot of it undeveloped, next door to its Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, and The Westward Ho site would give it 14 acres next to the $4 billion Echelon Place that will Boyd is scheduled to build where the Stardust now resides.

I guess I never realized Boyd Gaming (my former employer) owned Barbary Coast. If Harrah's acquires that property, you can bet they'll gut the Imperial Palace, O'Shea's and Barbary Coast. As much as I enjoy the loose atmosphere of O'Shea's, I know its days are numbered.