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As predicted, eager to dump any association with the criminal activities of the former owner of Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas, Caesars Palace has dumped the popular tourist destination and is replacing it in double-quick time with a new, in-house concept, Stripside Café & Bar.
Serendipity 3 was shuttered earlier this week, a few days after Rowen Seibel, the restaurant’s licensed operator, was released from Federal prison following a conviction for tax evasion. He was found guilty of hiding at least $1,011,279 in taxable earnings from the IRS. Seibel now heads into a period of house arrest in New York.
The new café and bar hopes to be up and running within the next 48 hours.
The Serendipity location is so prominent at the resort, Caesars Palace's publicity wing have yet to erase it from their Twitter and Facebook profile pictures.
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While local talk had predicted the site would be a future home for another chef Gordon Ramsay expansion, the name Stripside Café & Bar was filed for trademark protection back in October, two months after Seibel was sentenced to jail.
A very close partner with the Caesars Entertainment food and beverage team, much of Seibel’s career depended on his once prominent association with chef Ramsay, including the creation of the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill inside the resort.
That relationship eventually turned very ugly, leading to claims by Ramsay's lawyers that Seibel "traveled throughout the world blatantly mischaracterizing his rights under agreements governing restaurant ventures involving Mr. Ramsay," plus charges of "fraud, misconduct, and derelictions," and an "egregiously inept" management style.
The pair are currently fighting a $10 million legal war over who was responsible for the collapse of their Fat Cow eatery in Los Angeles. That restaurant was once rumored to be on its way to Las Vegas.
Already promised for the Stripside Café & Bar menu, "extensive offerings with delicious soups, salads, gourmet burgers and oven-fired pizzas among many other dishes. The restaurant will also serve breakfast all day with signature items such as Brioche French Toast and the Stripside breakfast along with a robust early morning cocktail menu."
