Elements of the Motor City help ignite D Las Vegas
The D Las Vegas is not a Detroit-themed hotel-casino, even inside the faux Las Vegas world of Paris, ancient Rome and New York.
The renovated downtown resort has been given elements of the Motor City, though, such as an outlet of American Coney Island, a famous Detroit restaurant that is opening its first branch outside of Michigan at The D.
"I don't think I've ever seen the place without a line of customers," said D Las Vegas Chief Executive Officer Derek Stevens, who grew up in Michigan and frequented the hot dog eatery.
The D represents a partnership of Stevens' Detroit roots and downtown Las Vegas' revitalization. It also happened to be Stevens' nickname.
"It's a combination of certain Detroit elements," he said Wednesday.
Stevens and his brother Greg Stevens bought the 640-room Fitzgeralds through a probate court sale a year ago for an undisclosed price.
After taking over the property earlier this year, the Stevens brothers began a $20 million renovation of the hotel-casino, renaming the resort The D Las Vegas and removing the Irish-themed elements in favor of a more modern image.
'We got rid of the green," Derek Stevens said.
A new lobby and valet area were created, and the hotel's rooms and suites were modernized and upgraded. All 34 floors were completed a week ago.
Derek Stevens said The D adopted the old General Motors theme, "Keep America Rolling," as a slogan, tying Detroit to Las Vegas. He plans on offering jackpot giveaways that include American automobiles.
Derek Stevens said he is also proud The D contracted with only American companies for new furniture, furnishings and other products.
"We're all about American made and the American worker," said Derek Stevens.
The Stevens brothers celebrated The D's transformation Wednesday with Mayor Carolyn Goodman and former Mayor Oscar Goodman, who is chairman of the Las Vegas Host Committee.
Of course, the Stevens brothers were keeping their eyes on television screens, watching how the Detroit Tigers were doing in the American League baseball playoffs.
That task was easy. The Longbar, the property's signature 100-foot-long centerpiece, has 15 70-inch flatscreen televisions, many of which are tuned to Detroit sporting events.
"Anybody from Detroit who comes to Vegas will always know that there is a Wings, or Pistons or Tigers or Wolverines or Spartans game on," Stevens told the Detroit Free Press this summer when the newspaper profiled his efforts to in Las Vegas.
The Stevens brothers now own two downtown casinos, The D and 60 percent of the Golden Gate, which completed its $12 million remodeling recently.
"I'm walking Fremont Street five nights a week," Derek Stevens said. "We're just a couple of buildings apart on the same street."
Part of the remodeling included installing an interactive video display across The D's Fremont Street facade. The attraction features several hundred feet of LED signage and 40 flat screen televisions.
The second level of The D's casino includes several vintage Las Vegas slot machines, including coin-operated games and the Sigma Derby simulated horse-racing game.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
