Despite all the talk that downtown Las Vegas going downhill and losing steam to the thriving Strip, hope still remains. With a number of reclamation projects in the works to help give the downtown corridor some new life, there is great potential for what downtown Las Vegas can become. The latest of these reclamation projects is the dilapidated Travel Inn, which according to the Las Vegas Gaming Wire, has been purchased by real estate investors specializing in troubled Las Vegas properties for $5 million.

Located between Stuart and Ogden on Las Vegas Boulevard, the 58-room hotel is run down to say the least. According to investors Stephen Siegel of Siegel Suites and John Tippins of Tippins Holding, the property was in bad shape. In addition to several squatters living inside, the south side wall of the property is broken down and the entire lot is littered with all sorts of trash. Siegel said the property is now secured and windows have been boarded up.

This is not something new to Siegel, whose Siegel Suites offers extended hotel stays in Las Vegas. Back in 2003, Siegel bought the dilapidated Bingo Suites for $6 million, which was housing drug dealers, thugs and prostitutes. Siegel went in there and cleared everybody out, fixed up the property, cleaned up the neighborhood and turned around the sold it for $10 million.

Just what Siegel and Tippins have planned for the Travel Inn is open to possibility. The two men have stated they are considering a new Siegel Suites or possibly partnering with Gregg Covin, who is set to close on a $15 million deal to purchase the Gold Spike on the adjacent property. Siegel believes there is a demand for a boutique hotel for people who are looking for something better than the Palms and Hard Rock, but are not willing to make the jump to a stay at the Bellagio Resort.

Covin, who said he informally spoke with Tippins and Siegel, said no details have been proposed as to how the Travel Inn property could be incorporated into his renovation of the Gold Spike. He said he is open to the possibility of expanding the property and working out a deal, but nothing is certain as of yet.