Here's an interesting rumor that's making the rounds of Las Vegas news sites…
As you may know, the Harrah's company owns a lot of hotels in Vegas. In addition to Harrah's, they own the Imperial Palace, the Flamingo, Bally's, Paris, Caesars Palace and the Rio. The Rio is off the Strip but the other hotels are all on Las Vegas Boulevard in a group. Caesars is across the street but Harrah's, the Imperial Palace, the Flamingo (and its companion casino, O'Shea's), Bally's and Paris are all in a line, one right next to the other…with one gap. Right in the middle there is the Barbary Coast, which is owned by Boyd Gaming. The Barbary Coast, located at the choice corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Flamingo, is the one thing that stops Harrah's from owning this huge, continuous mass of casino land. (They also own several properties right around the corner on Flamingo.)
So the rumor is that a deal is being finalized for a swap: Harrah's would get the Barbary Coast and Boyd would get the Rio plus either a ton of cash or another hotel to be named later. This would be good for Harrah's because they could link all their properties into some kind of mega-megaresort. But it might be even better for Boyd. The Rio is a much bigger hotel than the Barbary Coast…to say nothing of the money or other hotel they'd score in the deal. They could also link the Rio with the hotel next door — the Gold Coast — which they already own. (This map will give you an idea of how the properties are currently distributed.)
As I said, this is a rumor…but it sounds credible. And it could change the whole face of Las Vegas.