What was the Linq called before?

I spent eleven nights at the Imperial Palace back in 2001. It was my second trip to Vegas. I made sure to make it a long one so I could get to do and see everything I didn't have a chance to on my first trip, and then cross Las Vegas off the list.

Well that didn't happen.

I stayed here pretty much every trip until the resort fees came and I haven't stayed since. I am however, going to stay there on my next trip. I am doing a thing where I don't want to stay in any of my regular hotels, which means I am paying resort fees on 5 out of 18 nights.

 

Am i the only one who slapped his/her head when reading this title? IP is a legend!!

 

C'mon man, I loved that buffet. But, if I was honest, yes, it was really bad. Probably ate there 50 times over the years. And I definitely remember the cocktail waitresses as well as the 99cent Heinekens in the old entrance area just before you took the short moving sidewalk into the casino. I also remember the "Habitrail" feel of the elevators and room floors. Got lost more than once in that place.

 

I know! But I just couldn't pull it out of my foggy brain. I was trying to explain to DH where I was staying this trip, and he has no clue what the Linq is. Thanks all!!

 

I stayed at the Capri and many times at the Palace, never stayed at the Quad, but stayed at the LinQ........so i came full circle. When i think of Imperial Palace, one thing comes to mind..............CW's wearing blue kimono's.

 

I still miss the Mai Tai bar at the back of the casino at the Imp. I used to eat breakfast at the buffet. It's hard to ruin eggs. Even the coffee was self serve and you didn't have to tip because you never got waited on.

 

The Imperial Palace was the place I stayed at when I went to Las Vegas for my very first time. I thought it was going to be Asian themed inside but it wasn't lol. I still remember the room we got had a view of the rooftop air conditioner and the carpet was so dirty that the bottoms of our feet where black from walking on it. The walls were off-white and looked like it had been sprayed with some sort of chalky "mud" to sound proof it. Back then, my bank roll for the whole trip was $500 and after 3 days, I went home with $100 left. The highlight of that trip was having a "Ho" Dog for 99 cents. Hehe.

 

Clearly you never went to the Surf Buffet at the old Boardwalk...

 

Stayed at the old IP in '96. Had a good time, especially at the old O'Shea's just down the street.

 

I forgot it was called Quad before the Linq. How long did that last?

I had many buffets at the IP. While certainly not the best to put it mildly, they were all comped and maybe half were actually editable.

The only thing I really miss is the Champagne Pit. The fountain was a nice touch, but the cw's were always fast to pour the bubbly. Back then they even bestowed a string of beads for every blackjack. My girlfriend left one day with no fewer than 24 around her neck!

 

I remember when IP had the antique car museum. IP was one of our friends favorite places to gamble. He never played at the "upper crust" resorts, always the IP.

 

Maybe a year or year and a half? I think I went in there once during the Quad years, I think 2013

 

From IP to 4OAK (the Quad) to the Linq.

I loved the IP. The casino reminded me of being Downtown. One of the last places where the CW's will smile, look you in the eye and ask if you want a drink. Also one of the last places where my screwdriver was in a tall GLASS and I actually can taste vodka.

 

Used to love sitting down in the 1/1 1/2 cash game looking out on the street. Never won much, as I was always more interested in the people watching than the poker.

 

The thing I remember the most about IP was how cold it was in there. I mean really shivering cold.

 

Only stayed there once for a couple of nights in the late 1990's, after the original Aladdin closed, but we also visited several times over the years. It was not fancy, but it was a fun place to play. I think it may have been where I played in my first LV daily poker tournament for less than $100.

I also recall the waitress' outfits. There were memorable to say the least.

 

Actually at that time, O'Sheas was part of the Flamingo and not associated at all with the IP.

 

IP was my parents’ favorite place in the 80s. Back then it seemed impossibly glamorous and futuristic.

Fast forward twenty years and it was a go-to place to stay for me and my friends. By then the shine was literally gone, replaced with the patina from a billion Carlton 120s. Believe it or not, IP, a real resort on the actual Strip, was a step up for us. Yes, you could do worse.

I never had a really bad room there — all of the flaws fell cleanly in the category of “you get what pay for.” Rooms were dingy and the furniture was worn, but the sheets were clean, the “carpet” was vacuumed (notice that I didn’t say ‘clean’) and the bathroom sanitary. Even if the toilet had a Horseshoe -shaped seat (for luck, I used to joke) with no lid and a power-flusher, just like the Arco station in Barstow. That was all we needed. Some of us would stay in the Capri rooms, the remains of the old Flamingo Capri hotel in the back, which had a really skeevy feel to it. But again, nothing wrong with it. The one terrible flaw of the place was the godforsaken elevators.

What it did offer: location, location, location, at a good price. In particular, proximity to the old O’Shea’s, which was a lot of fun. If it were still there in the same state of decay, along with O’Shea’s still offering 75-cent Guinness and the Barbary Coast, I’d still stay on the Strip. But things change.

 

OMG THIS. The Mai Tai bar was of LEGEND if you wanted to kick start your evening. You could run your car on them!

 

Found for your memories...