The Palms is back. Again.
After a $700 million renovation by Station Casinos that failed to make the off-Strip casino-resort hip again — and a two-year closure due to the pandemic — the Palms reopened last Wednesday with a new owner.
There was a big VIP party, fireworks and a large crowd that filled the casino floor once the doors officially opened.
It was all made possible by Southern California’s San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which bought the mothballed resort last year and became the first indigenous tribe to own a Las Vegas casino.
San Manuel looks to focus more on gaming and hospitality, rather than the nightlife that once put the Palms on the map.
Executing that vision is Palms general manager Cynthia Kiser Murphey, who previously ran New York-New York for MGM Resorts for 12 years.
Murphey said visitors will notice several changes – from the sports book to the art and redone common areas.
“What's the most impactful that you'll notice is that we've activated the floor. We're featuring local musicians, artists, entertainers, all over the property,” she said. They featured bands on opening weekend, and dueling pianos on Tuesday night.
They’re also bringing in chefs for pop-up events. “Where we bring in local chefs to feature different cuisines and then we're going to have them in different programming so that people can have different experiences.”
Palms brought back about half of their employees who were there pre-pandemic. Of those, 79 are “day one” employees, who were there opening day 20 years ago.
“And not only did they bring back the culture, and the warm hospitality, they have the knowledge of the property in the community, which was just incredibly helpful.”
They’re also mentoring 2,000 new employees.
In the meantime, she said they’re planning to reopen The Pearl concert venue this summer, and they’re aiming for July 4 to reopen Ghostbar. Oh, and she said the parking is free.
Cynthia Kiser Murphey, general manager, Palms
