Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon is a little casino with a big heart, and now it’s getting a big vote of confidence with a $185 million renovation.

The optimally-located hotel-casino, which sits at the corner of Flamingo Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard, next to Flamingo Las Vegas, will close temporarily on Feb. 3, 2013 for a serious make-over.

Bill’s, formerly known as the Barbary Coast, will be transformed into a “boutique lifestyle hotel and casino” set to be unveiled in early 2014, with a brand-spanking new name.

The extensive renovation will include the addition of a 65,000-square-foot rooftop pool, which we’re fairly sure will have one of the most killer views of The Strip in all of Las Vegas.

The addition of a pool means there will also be a dayclub/nightclub. Drai Management Group, the folks behind the hotel’s award-winning Drai’s After Hours club, will manage the new club. The club is expected to open in late 2014.

Guest rooms at the hotel will also be remodeled, as well as the casino floor. A new restaurant will be added to the hotel’s second floor.

Bill’s trivia: The hotel originally cost $11.5 million and opened in 1979.

Big changes are certainly afoot center-Strip! The Imperial Palace is now The Quad. The Linq entertainment district is well under way, and the High Roller observation is growing by the minute.

We can’t wait to see the changes in store for Bill’s, especially if it could mean we’d be able to use our Total Rewards cards there, and as long as they don’t take away Rapid Craps.

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