Golden Gate Hotel and Casino
January 7, 2008
The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino is located at One Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. A part of the Fremont Street Experience, it is the oldest and smallest hotel (106 rooms) on Fremont Street.
History
It opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada. In 1907 it was assigned Las Vegas‘ first telephone with the number 1. In 1931, with gambling being re-legalized in Neveda, the Hotel Nevada was expanded and renamed Sal Sagev (Las Vegas spelled backwards.)
The hotel gained its current name in 1955 when a group of Italian-Americans from San Francisco Bay Area started the Golden Gate Casino. The 106-room, four-story hotel was renovated in 2005.
The Golden Gate was the first to serve a fifty cent shrimp cocktail in 1959, long a Las Vegas cliché. The now 99-cent shrimp cocktail, called the “Original Shrimp Cocktail” on the menu, has become a mainstay of the San Francisco Shrimp Bar and Deli and is a favorite of both locals and tourists. It is what the Golden Gate is best known for.
The Original Shrimp Cocktail consists of a regular-sized sundae glass filled from top to bottom with small salad shrimp and topped with a large dollop of cocktail sauce. Unlike many other Las Vegas establishments that offer a 99-cent shrimp cocktail, the glass is not padded with lettuce or other fillers, which is often cited as the reason for the Original Shrimp Cocktail’s popularity. Three other varieties of the cocktail are available:
* an imitation crab cocktail made with imitation crab in the same fashion as the Original Shrimp Cocktail, 99 cents
* a combination crab-and shrimp cocktail made with small salad shrimp atop imitation crab, $1.99
* the “Big” Shrimp Cocktail, made like the original, but using larger-sized shrimp, $2.99
Despite the varieties available, the Original Shrimp Cocktail is still the biggest seller at the San Francisco Shrimp Bar and Deli. Two tons of shrimp are served there every week.
Movie history
It appeared, along with many other classic Fremont Street casinos, in the film Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.
Fremont Hotel and Casino
January 7, 2008
The Fremont Hotel & Casino is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. It is one of the casinos owned by Boyd Gaming Corporation. The hotel provides 447 rooms and the casino offers 32,000ft² of space.
History
The Fremont hotel was designed by architect Wayne McAllister and opened on May 18, 1956 as the tallest building in the state of Nevada.
Wayne Newton made his start in Las Vegas at the Fremont.
Many scenes from the Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn movie Swingers were filmed inside the Fremont, including their games of blackjack, and breakfast in the casino’s Paradise Buffet.
Four Queens
January 7, 2008
The Four Queens Hotel and Casino is located in downtown Las Vegas on the Fremont Street Experience. Home to the Queen’s Machine, the world’s largest slot machine, the 690 room hotel and 40,000 square foot casino is owned and operated by TLC Enterprises, which acquired the property from the Elsinore Corporation in 2003.
History
Construction began on November 16, 1964, opening in 1966. The casino is named after the the builder Ben Goffstein’s four daughters, Faith, Hope, Benita, and Michele. It originally contained only 120 rooms and a 20,000 square foot casino.
In 1976 the casino expanded to 33,000 square feet and changed decor to be warmer.
Today the casino occupies the entire block comprised of Fremont St, Casino Center, Third Street, and Carson Avenue. The Four Queens was also a partner in renovating the downtown area and creating the Fremont Street experience.
In April 2007 the Canyon Club opened at the Four Queens providing the first downtown casino club.
Fitzgeralds Las Vegas
January 7, 2008
Fitzgeralds Las Vegas is a 34-story, 638-room hotel and casino in downtown Las Vegas. Fitzgeralds is owned by Barden Nevada a subsidiary of The Majestic Star Casino, LLC.
It has a 42,000 square foot casino, and several places to eat, as well as a business center and pool and spa. The hotel is located at the eastern end of the Fremont Street Experience. Fitzgerald’s also has a race and sports book. The casino has approximately 940 slot machines, and 29 table games.
Fitzgeralds has a “luck of the Irish” theme, with shamrocks and a leprechaun mascot.
History
It opened as the Sundance Hotel in 1979 (some sources say 1980). It took on its current name in 1987.
The hotel was renovated in 2003 and was a Holiday Inn for a while.
El Cortez
January 7, 2008
The El Cortez, a hotel and casino is a relatively small downtown Las Vegas gaming venue a block from the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Boulevard. The official marketing slogan has been “Where locals come to play” since the El Cortez has traditionally attracted Las Vegas residents weary of large casinos geared towards tourists. Slots, table games and a race and sports book occupy one floor of the main pavillion. It is one of the oldest casino-hotel properties in Las Vegas having continuously operated at the same Fremont Street location since 1941.
History
Marion Hicks and J.C. Grayson built the El Cortez, downtown Las Vegas first major resort, in 1941 for $245,000. The location at 6th Street and Fremont was originally considered too far from downtown, but it became quickly so profitable, Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway bought the property in 1945. J.K. Houssels had originally opened the fifty-nine room hotel and casino before the sale to the major organized crime figures. In 1963, a major hotel tower was built by new owner Jackie Gaughan. Another tower addition was completed in 1980, bringing the total room count to its current 299. Gaughan, a casino owner and operator since the early 1950s, lives in the El Cortez tower penthouse and is known to be on the casino floor almost daily. The property is one of the few casinos to have never changed its exterior facade in Las Vegas, retaining the same signage and ranch themed architecture for over sixty years.
Current operation
Jackie Gaughans son Michael Gaughan owns the sports and race book in the current casino under the name South Point Race and Sports Book, which is run in other downtown casinos as well. Like most Las Vegas casinos, the El Cortez has undergone several renovations with the latest major remodeling completed in 2006. New carpet, marble flooring, gaming machines, refurbished guest rooms and an upgraded kitchen for the Chinese restaurant were added. Although only a block away from the Fremont Street Experience, the hotel is part of the newly created Fremont East section of downtown. It has also created a main entrance off Las Vegas Boulevard (5th Street) by opening a block long pedestrian walkway from the boulevard to the hotelès main entrance on 6th Street. The El Cortez is also well known in the casino industry as the most prominent “break-in house” for new table game dealers to get experience before moving onto bigger properties.
California Hotel and Casino
January 7, 2008
The California Hotel and Casino (The Cal) opened in 1975 is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. It is one of the casinos owned by Boyd Gaming Corporation and is connected to the Main Street Station Hotel and Casino and Brewery by an enclosed elevated walkway.
This property has a Hawaiian theme and is a destination resort for people from Hawaii.
It is close to Fremont Street Experience.
Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel
January 7, 2008
Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The casino is named for its founder, Benny Binion and has 366 rooms, two restaurants and a rooftop pool. It is owned by MTR Gaming Group. It is still frequently referred to by its former name, Binion’s Horseshoe, though the rights to the “Horseshoe” name are now owned by Harrah’s Entertainment.
TLC Enterprises, owner of the Four Queens Hotel and Casino, has reached an agreement to purchase Binions for $32 million, pending regulatory approval. TLC owner Terry Caudill has announced that once the acquisition is final, in addition to retaining current employees he intends to invest in updates and upgrades to the facility.
After buying Binion’s Horseshoe, Harrah’s Entertainment sold the property on March 11, 2004 to MTR Gaming Group, which operated the hotel. Harrah’s continued to operate the casino under a temporary contract until March of 2005. Harrah’s retained the rights to the Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker name.
History
On March 11, 2005, MTR Gaming Group officially took control of the operation of the casino and it was renamed it Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel.
In July 2005 Binion’s hosted the World Series of Poker finals for the last time. The famous poker tournament, which originated at the property, had simply outgrown the space at Binion’s; additionally, Harrah’s now owned the tournament and wanted to host it at one of its properties. In 2005, all events except the final three tables of the main event were played at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino.
Movie history
* Lucky You (2007)
Wynn Las Vegas
January 7, 2008
Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club is a AAA five diamond/Mobil five-star casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada; a southern suburb of Las Vegas. The US$2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers 215 acres.
Wynn Las Vegas is currently the tallest completed building in the Las Vegas area, towering 48 stories over the Strip. It is located at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Sands Avenue (on the N.E. corner), directly across The Strip from the Fashion Show Mall.
The 2,716 rooms range in size from 640 square feet (58 m²) to the villas at 7,000 square feet (650 m²) with a 111,000 ft² (10,200 m²) casino, a convention center with 223,000 ft² (20,700 m²) of space, 76,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of retail space.
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