In 1905, mere weeks after the original land auction in May, one of the first commercial establishments to receive water service from the Las Vegas Land & Water Company was the eponymously named Miller Hotel, located at One Fremont Street on the southeast corner of Fremont and Main, built by one Abe Miller. Miller bought the three prime lots for his hotel from the railroad for $1,750. The Miller Hotel was a glorified tent, with canvas walls and cots for beds while he was constructing a permanent structure.
A year later, in 1906, Miller opened the Hotel Nevada, a two-story 35-room corner building, the first hotel in Las Vegas to be constructed of concrete. Miller charged $1 to stay in one of the 10-foot-by-10-foot rooms, complete with electric lighting and steam radiators. In the lobby of the Hotel Nevada was a cigar store that received Las Vegas' first telephone service in 1907; the phone number was 1. There was also a small casino, with roulette and poker.
In 1931, when gambling was legalized throughout the state, Miller expanded the Hotel Nevada, adding a third floor. He also changed the name to "Sal Sagev" (Las Vegas spelled backwards). Three years later, for reasons unknown, Miller closed the casino, which remained closed for the next 20 years.
The Sal Sagev lasted another 24 years, till a group of partners from San Francisco bought the joint and renamed it the Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate was managed for 40 years by a man named Italo Ghelfi, who introduced the famous shrimp cocktail in 1959. Italo's stepson Mark Brandenburg still runs the historic downtown hotel, which was restored to its original condition in the early '90s and is today the oldest operating hotel in Las Vegas.
You can see some cool historic photos of the Nevada, the Sal Sagev, and the Golden Gate at www.goldengatecasino.
