Was There a Riverboat-Themed Casino across from the Mirage?

I recently traveled to Las Vegas with my father. He hadn't been there since around a year after the Mirage opened, which would put it sometime in 1990, right? He swears that he remembers a big casino that looked like a riverboat right across the street from the Mirage, where Harrah's is now. I humored him, but is this a sign of early-onset Alzheimer's (he's only 74)?

Well, we figure that if your dad were suffering from any form of dementia, he probably wouldn't remember a detail about a trip he took almost 30 years ago. But so far anyway, his long-term memory is impeccable.

Before it was Harrah's, the resort-casino in that location at center Strip across from Caesars was called the Holiday Hotel. A Holiday Inn property, it opened in 1972 and had 1,000 rooms.

In late 1989, the Holiday completed a 35-story 734-room tower, which made it the largest Holiday Inn in the world.

A year later in 1990, a major facelift transformed the Holiday into a 450-foot-long Mississippi riverboat. Its 80-foot-diameter paddlewheel, 85-foot-tall smokestacks, and gangways, crow's nest, and pilot room earned the hotel the nickname "Ship on the Strip" -- one of several "riverboat" casinos floating in a sea of Nevada sand at the time.

(In those days, the Showboat was dry-docked out on Boulder Highway; Nevada Landing in Jean had a riverboat theme; and there was a Riverboat casino in the concrete jungle of downtown Reno. The Colorado Belle in Laughlin was unusual, in that it was the only riverboat casino in Nevada actually on a river; it's also the only one of the five that remains to this day.)

In addition, the lime-jello lighting effects on the towers seemed to place the Holiday at center stage in this Emerald City.

Shortly thereafter in 1992, the name of the hotel-casino was changed to Harrah's, which owned Holiday Inn.

In 1997, Harrah's completed another expansion and renovation to the tune of $150 million, adding a 35-story 700-room tower, new restaurants and retail shops, and an expanded casino. Also, the riverboat hoopla was replaced with a façade that Harrah's claimed was more "elegant" (though most people have thought of it ever since as generic).

Thus, the Holiday/Harrah's riverboat theme came and went in less than seven years. But your dad was there for one of them.

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tgabrielli Mar-14-2019

Riverboat Restaurant

I also remember the Riverboat on the strip. It had one of the best seafood restaurants, downstairs from the gaming floor,all the way in the back. I used to eat there every trip to Vegas.

David Liming Mar-14-2019

Riverboat/Harrahs

I remember it well. As I recall we went to its buffet all the time, it was really inexpensive like $1.99 or something. Anyone remember the exact buffet details?

Annie Mar-14-2019

The Paddle Wheel

In the late '80's - early '90's, there was a small hotel/casino just West of the Strip, opposite The Stardust, RIP, on Convention Center Drive with a paddle wheel out front. I think it was called "The Paddle Wheel." It became the Debbie Reynolds Casino which eventually went bankrupt.

Annie Mar-14-2019

oops

I meant just EAST of the Strip. (There should be way to edit one's comments.)

Kevin Lewis Mar-14-2019

Ah, memories...

I remember the Holiday as one of the two places where I KNOW I was cheated at craps (the other was the Garbagecana in Atlantic Shitty). Of course, I could have been cheated many more times that I never saw, but this incident was remarkable for its brazenness, its ineptitude (I should never have been able to detect it), and the insouciance of the cheating dealer when I complained. Vegas back then still had its share of old-style crooks, as compared to the modern, corporate version.

Todd Hart Mar-14-2019

1000 Rooms?

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Vegas in 1972 when I was 12 years old.  I hate to disagree but there wasn't 1000 rooms in that hotel. Also, the casino wasn't built yet when we were there.  I remember our room facing South and we could see the airport and the Old Flamingo.

[email protected] Mar-14-2019

Star Trek

The original Star Trek ride at the Hilton still showed the ship on the strip.  Once the ship was gone, it definitely made the ride look dated.  However, the second 4D ride was spectacular.  I really miss them, they were a lot of fun along with the restaurant.

I agree that the ship was much more distinctive than the current plastic-looking facade.  Unfortunately, a lot of the resorts now look pretty much like any resorts anywhere else.  I find it a little sad that LAS has lost a lot of its quirky, distinctive look.  Nowadays there's little reason to leave the hotel you're in except to go to a show.  It used to be fun exploring all the unique properties.

VeeCee43 Mar-14-2019

Photos?

Am I the only one who misses the photos/images provided when answering LV history questions? Now I have to search for them on all on my own :-)

O2bnVegas Mar-14-2019

toot toot

For a lot of years after Holiday Casino was transformed into Harrah's, the deep 'whistle' from the smokestacks can/could be heard periodically outside the building.  Don't know if this is still happening, but it wasn't that long ago we heard it while walking the Strip.  During the Holiday days there were slots consistent with the riverboat theme.  Calliope music would emanate from the machines when a jackpot was hit (instead of "We're In The Money").

Jerry Patey Mar-14-2019

Paddlewheel

Yes the paddlewheel was there. We remember the Blazing 7 slots and they were blazing. You could literally feel the electricity in the air. Payback must have been increased as they almost always hit. The slot attentebt’s were so nice. They would keep records of machines that hit jackpots during night. Of course we played ones that had not. It prob was what made the machines hit so much. Try that today. Haha. We would stay at Mirage but prob. played more at Harrah’s. Those were the good days in Vegas. Miss the atmosphere. We took our grandson on one drop. He text me night of arrival stating how diff Vegas was. He commented on atmospher party scene clubs etc. all I could say was - I know.

Fumb Duck Mar-14-2019

I Was There

The Holiday had two good $5 minimum, 2-deck blackjack tables with red felt layouts. Good rules, 3:2 payment on Blackjacks and friendly pit bosses that gave liberal buffet comps. When it became Harrah's, it was just another burn joint with all 6-deck BJ, higher minimums, fake party pits, terrible rules  and stingy comps. I haven't been back.

Question of the Day - 14 March 2019

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