LAS VEGAS – The chief executive of Penthouse says the company is looking to buy a casino on the Las Vegas Strip and generate business by tying it to the adult magazine and Web site empire.
Penthouse CEO Marc Bell told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a report published Sunday the best time to buy is in a down economy.
"We're looking to make a presence, take something and clean it up and fix it up and give it a new image," Bell said. "We think it would be a tremendous draw."
In addition to thousands of Web sites and its magazine, the company launched a cable network in January.
Bell says he has talked with "numerous people" to find a property on the Strip. He says he wants "a place where we can have the most impact ... only if it would be a significant property."
"We have no intention to rebrand the name of the hotel," Bell said. "We would like to see a Penthouse casino presence and a Penthouse pool presence."
Bell said he envisions girls from the magazine as casino dealers and the possibility of strippers performing inside the hotel, if it becomes legal.
"I would to imagine at point we would be able to, as entertainment gets more risque on the Strip, as Vegas gets more back to its roots," Bell said.
Penthouse was founded in the United Kingdom in 1965 and moved to the United States four years later.
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