On Friday Caesars Entertainment announced the newest new name for the property formerly known as Bill’s and before then formerly known as the Barbary Coast.
They were going to name it Gansevoort Las Vegas due to a marketing partnership with New York City-based Gansevoort Hotel Group – but that deal fell apart when Massachusetts regulators claimed that one of the Gansevoort investors had ties to the Russian mob.
So – of all the names in the world – Caesars decided to go with: “Cromwell”!
Cromwell?
When you hear the name Cromwell – don’t you immediately think of fun, good times, gambling, winning, partying and other things folks want to do when they come to Las Vegas! Granted the words Golden, Silver, Nugget are a bit overused, but Cromwell?
According to hotel publicity, the hotel rooms are described as “Parisian loft-style apartments with distressed hardwood flooring” – but there is nothing Parisian sounding in Cromwell – except for the distressing part?
What does come to mind? How about Oliver Cromwell! The man who took over England as “Lord Protector” (aka dictator) in 1650 after executing King Charles I; the Puritan who closed the bars, public houses and theaters. (There is no recorded statement on Cromwell’s views toward Internet Gaming, but one can guess!)
Worst yet, the man who led a serious campaign against Ireland that cost the lives of thousands of Catholics (especially those in holy orders), who banned public observation of the Catholic religion and created problems on the Emerald Isle that last to this day.
Two years after he died a grateful England (led by the Charles II – son of Charles I) dug his corpse out of the ground, hanged it in chains and then beheaded it.
Of course, many people will say that the name Cromwell is an improvement over Gansevoort Las Vegas – but I am not one of those people.
Full disclosure – among his many acts – Cromwell drove the Compton family out of their ancestral home in 1650. Although members of the family did get it back (and still own it) many other branches of the family ended up crossing the pond. So to those who wonder why you’re stuck with me – blame it on Cromwell!
