Somewhere in the late 90s, the burgundy color of the hotel tower was repainted white. In 2000, the restaurant added a wildly successful after-hours nightclub and became Drai's After Hours. In 1997, Victor Drai officially opened Drai's, a restaurant located in the space McDonald’s once occupied. In 1987, a McDonald's opened in the basement-level of the casino, complete with its own message board.
The Barbary Coast opened on March 2, 1979. Michael Gaughan built the 9-story hotel and 30,000 square foot casino on the former site of the demolished Desert Villa Motel.
