Tuesday, June 11, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Hilton Hotels Corp. is trying to corner the corner -- literally.
Hilton is negotiating to buy the Barbary Coast, a tasty little morsel on the Strip between the Flamingo Hilton and Bally's.
Possible sticking points include price and nostalgia, the latter on the part of Barbary Coast founder Michael Gaughan, who built the 200-room hotel-casino on a 1.7-acre site 18 years ago despite opposition from the gaming giants surrounding him.
"It's been a part of my life for a long time," Gaughan said Monday, acknowledging Hilton has stepped up its discussions about the Barbary in recent days.
Buying the parcel would give Hilton land along the east side of the Strip stretching from the Flamingo Hilton south to the Aladdin hotel-casino.
Its neighbors across the Strip would include The Mirage, Caesars Palace and two new resorts, Bellagio and Monte Carlo. Bellagio is a $1.3 billion Mirage Resorts Inc. project opening in 1998, while Monte Carlo, a joint venture of Mirage Resorts and Circus Circus Entertainment, opens in 10 days.
Last week, Hilton announced it was buying Bally Entertainment Co., majority owner of Bally's, for $3 billion.
President Stephen Bollenbach said Hilton would continue with Bally's plans to build Paris, a $500 million project featuring a half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower, on property just south of Bally's.
Paris would be adjacent to the Aladdin, which recently announced a $600 million expansion.
While a Hilton spokesman declined to comment, Gaughan said executives of Hilton and Coast Resorts Inc. are expected to resume discussions within the next two weeks.
Coast Resorts was formed from the merger of the Barbary Coast and Gold Coast, partnerships in which Gaughan was the majority shareholder. Coast Resorts is building a third casino -- the 810-room Orleans -- on Tropicana Avenue and Arville Street.
Six months ago, Gaughan told gaming regulators at hearings on the merger that the Barbary Coast was worth $60 million to $70 million.
"It's obviously gone up in value since then," he said Monday.
Gaughan, who built the Barbary for about $15 million, said he plans to proceed with a 200-room, $25 million expansion that will be completed "by the time Bellagio opens."
The Barbary is part of Coast Resorts' collateral for a recent sale of $175 million in bonds used to finance the Orleans, he said, "so it won't be too easy to sell."
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