Published on: September 30, 2024, 08:39h.
Last updated on: September 30, 2024, 08:39h.
The Bent Inn, an LGBTQ+-owned and operated boutique hotel that catered to the Las Vegas gay community, has shut down after just one year. Sam Novak from Vegas411 revealed this news on social media.
The Bent Inn opened its doors in October 2023 at 207 N. 11th St. downtown, near the Fremont Street Experience. It boasted 33 rooms.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the closure of Bent Inn & Pub,” said an Instagram post from its co-founders and owners, Mark Hunter and Greg Kafka, who previously owned the Palm Springs resorts Escape and Desert Paradise.
Due to pandemic-related issues, the hotel’s opening was delayed from early 2021, allowing Queen Las Vegas — another LGBTQ+ boutique hotel and restaurant — to open a month earlier. Queen Las Vegas also includes a gaming lounge.
Queen Las Vegas, known as “the gayest destination on the Strip,” is also situated downtown, offering 28 rooms at the Thunderbird located at 1215 S. Las Vegas Blvd. It is managed by Q Group Hospitality.
The note from Hunter and Kafka did not attribute its closure to competition but rather to legal issues.
“As many of you know, we have been engaged in ongoing disputes with our general contractor, which have resulted in two pending lawsuits,” the note explained. “These disputes have had a significant financial impact, leading to Bent Inn’s closure.”
Before the presence of two competing gay hotels in Las Vegas, there had been none since 2014 when the Blue Moon Hotel ceased operations.
The note from Hunter and Kafka ended with: “We are grateful for all of you and your support and sincerely wish we could continue operating.”
Moonlight Shadow
The property that housed the Bent Inn was bought in 2020 by Hunter and Kafka for $1.9 million, according to Redfin. Originally opened as the Moonlight Motel in 1963, its main claim to fame was inspiring the 1984 Gun Club song, “Moonlight Motel,” written from the perspective of a prostitute in downtown Las Vegas.
In the early 2000s, the rundown Moonlight was rebranded as the Cheyenne before being transformed into the budget-friendly Cerrito Apartments.