PENTHOUSE TO BUY A HOTEL AND CASINO IN VEGAS?

Vegas needs another casino like Robin Williams needs more chest hair. But, that said, Penthouse is looking to throw its hat into the casino ring ala the now-defunct Playboy Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City in the '70s.

In any case, Penthouse CEO Marc Bell went public with plans to buy what he calls a a "significant property" on the Las Vegas Strip in order to join the casino wars.

"The best time to buy is in a down economy," said the South Florida financier in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Interestingly, his business plan includes tying in his 10,000-Web site empire, most of them social networking sites, to generate business.

"We have no intention to rebrand the name of the hotel (we don't believe that, btw). We would like to see a Penthouse casino presence and a Penthouse pool presence," Bell told Vegas Confidential during an interview at Planet Hollywood Resort in what is known as the "Stripper suite."

His Web sites have 200 million members, including "phenomenal" numbers in Europe and Asia. Penthouse launched a cable television network in January and already has signed up 30 million homes, with another 30 million anticipated by next year, he said.

Perhaps they want to mimic the recently-opened Playboy Club in the Las Vegas Palms Hotela nd Caisno. The new club, with its very noticeable neon bunny head, has casinos, bars, and a bathroom with pictures of Playmates on the walls.

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