Question of the Day - 23 January 2021

Played in most of them except for Railroad Pass (walked in and turned around and waled out) and Westgate/International (out of the country for a decade in Europe and Asia). 
Gawd I miss old Vegas, Vinson said it all yesterday, Vegas just isn't fun anymore.

Well said Jackie.  "Vinson said it all yesterday, Vegas just isn't fun anymore."

My first "real" LV experience was at the Las Vegas Hilton.  I had done some minor playing prior, and even purchased (and never used) a Stupak "casino value book".  Out of the blue I got an offer from the LV Hilton for full RFB and $300 free play.  Result?  I went then and several times after to the LV Hilton to play Pick 'Em in the Star Trek bar.  And as you can guess, lost WAY more than the $300 they gave me as seed money.  Never see that kind of an offer again - and that is too bad.  Even with the RFB and freeplay, Hilton got their share!

I've spent so much time bemoaning the "good old places" that have been torn down...or "blowed up", that we almost forget the oldies that are still there (and we've stayed at most of them). But Jackie, you should have stopped in at the Railroad Pass. Last year (2019) we actually stayed there for a night. We were not far from the Clark County Museum and close to Boulder City, so we got to do things that we normally have to skip because of time constraints. And it really is a nice place, nothing fancy, but very friendly, not crowded, and inexpensive. We have nothing bad to say about it. And despite the comments about "no fun", when we can travel again, we will be back...and we will have fun.  

We stayed there on a Friday night when every other Casino wanted to charge us for Fri/Sat nights.
I've had a good time every visit there, and it wasn't that long ago that they still had $1 Blackjack.
The room was a little dated, but clean, and comfortable, the buffet was adequate for the price, and the staff was, as most small venues, very nice.

My first experience in a Vegas casino was in the venerable Slots A Fun in July, 1975. I was 17 years of age, playing on a fake ID. Because the clientele at the 50cent table appeared rather sketchy, I played for $1. My $20 bankroll lasted several bliss filled hours. As I rose after exhausting my bankroll, I had the same thought as when I first engaged in self abuse not so many years before: "I will do this again"

What about the Golden Gate? I thought it was the oldest downtown.

The Golden Gate Casino and Hotel was operating in 1906 but under a different name. In 1955 new ownership bought the place and renamed it to the Golden Gate. Before that it was called The Miller Hotel, it opened in 1906 and they had a small gambling area that operated until Nevada banned all gambling in 1909. In 1931 the gambling ban was lifted and the Miller Hotel was expanded and it was renamed to "Sal Sagev" (Las Vegas spelled backwards). Their players club card used to say "Club 1906" and the LV Review-Journal regularly has articles calling it the oldest casino in Las Vegas. A recent newspaper story had the title "Golden Gate Celebrates 115th Anniversary". And the Golden Gate's website says it is the oldest. https://www.goldengatecasino.com/our-story/

We all understand the quote, “This is the West - When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” We also understand a business marketing themselves with whatever it takes to get attention. But when the city newspapers and a handful of institutions join in congratulating Golden Gate on their "115th anniversary" recently, it's just matter of carelessly mistaking promotion for history.