Question of the Day - 12 February 2020

I miss a lot of the ones in the above list (especially Boardwalk, Fitzgerald’s and Holy Cow) but I really miss the Barbary Coast the most.  $1 margs, $1 shrimp cocktails, old saloony feel, very old Vegas. I stayed in the hotel part once, too. Tres cool - Victorian furnishings, little balconies, stained glass window in the bathroom.  At least there is Downtown now - hopefully those oldie but goodies will stay around for a while.  Favorite old Vegas currently for me def is the Cortez. 

How could you forget?

Smiley Face

I think you forgot the Imperial palace not that it would be my first choice, but it was the first place I ever stayed. Birdie like you I loved the Barbary Coast. Well I love a lot of the ones that are gone. Looking at the list and realizing I did not see the IP made me think also how bad the Buffett was there and at Boardwalk.  

I liked the ORIGINAL O'Shea's. The new incarnation just isnt the same. Also second the Barbary Coast

At 50 cents per deal, you could ignore the cost and enjoy the game.

Do you count casinos that have changed ownership and/or names.  Two come to mind.  I never played at the Debbie Reynolds, but played several times at the Greek Isle.  Same for Silver Sevens.  I first knew it as Terribles and that was distinctly different from Silver Sevens.  The old place was a great small locals joint that I discovered on my first trip to Vegas and made a point of visiting every time I got to come to town.

Holy Cow is on the list but I don't remember it being a casino, just a place to eat with a micro-brewery? I liked it and visited it with friends when I was on the north end of the Strip. But I didn't think of it as a casino.

The iconic Stardust and Riviera both had signs and a look that reflect the total Las Vegas imagery to me. The Riv's large brass wall sculpture of Crazy Girls with their shiny rearends, mounted right by the front entrance, very visible from the street and sidewalk. These were very much Las Vegas casinos. That kind of stuff reminds me of what Vegas used to be like and I miss those days.

Before it became Terribles, it was The Continental.  Have friends who liked it a lot "their slots pay off real well", though we never ventured there to try.

Wasn't there a Silver Slipper?

Nob Hill?  Maybe Nob Hill became Casino Royale?

We saw Holiday Casino (and heard the smokestacks blow periodically) from our window at the new Mirage.  By the time we stayed there it had become Harrah's.  I suppose it was an earlier casino with a riverboat theme before Holiday Inn bought it, then Harrah's.  Not a favorite, the HC, just a bit of 'history'.

Mermaids brings back pleasant memories of smiling costumed girls handing out free beads on every stroll down Fremont Street.

I used to run sales meetings in Las Vegas, Tahoe and Santa Fe.  Brought in about 25 - 30 sales people and corporate management. 

Always stayed the DI when we were there. The had the small "houses" off the golf course which was perfect to create a team atmosphere for the sales force.  On-site golf was a big selling point with upper management who would attend a Vegas meeting but not go to other locations.

nm

low end , mel exber , and jackie were classics . great sport memorabilia on display , my first HOT TURKEY SANDWICH - real turkey  (not processed )in the coffee shop . Where have these GREAT LAS VEGAS  COFFEE SHOPS GONE ????Across  the street the 'GATE , with its iconic cafe  (not DUPARS ), $.99 shrimp cocktails , always the number one  LVA deal !!!JERRY'S NUGGET 48 oz. PRIME RIB and DESSERTS  , even made this NORTH casino great (still open but meal gone ).  AH , YES , MEMORIES , GO FORDSON ,  ty  MR.CURTIS

Who could forget the old downtown Horseshoe as owned & operated  by Benny Benion himself.  Comps galore and best rules at BJ and great odds at craps.  

What about the short LIVED LUCKY DRAGON

One of my Mom's favorites was the Nevada Palace. She always went there on her birthday for the freebies. it was on Boulder Highway. And we always liked the Opera House (a little north of downtown toward Jerry's Nugget). Neither would be my absolute favorite but both were cool places that are now gone. When the survey runs can I get 2 votes? One for me and one for my wife? As far as Holy Cow, rokgpsman, it was the place I got my first Royal Flush. (When I cashed out the coins and took the buckets to the cashier, the machine shortchanged me by a couple of dollars.) To LVA, thanks for the preview. Since I only have one choice it will take a over week to decide. We loved Stardust and Riviera, but we renewed our vows for our 25th at Boardwalk. (Yes, Elvis officiated).

Any thing before corporations took over, the days when the boys ran things 

When I went slumming it was fun to stop off at these joints. The Western for the people watching. Some of those folks at the bar were very interesting! $1 Black Jack. And wooden floors that squeaked. The Opera House up in N. Vegas. (Now leveled) Once while playing $2 B.J. the guy sitting next to me got caught capping his bet by the dealer. The coffee shop was cheap and not too bad. But like many here. The D.I. and Stardust. 

Loved the shows at the Desert Inn such as Keeley Smith in a lounge for a two drink minimum or Buddy Hackett in the main theatre, The Aladdin for it's cheesy but great Arabian Nights motif and Caesar's before the Palace Tower was added and the umpteenth others after. When you could go for breakfast in the Cafe Roma and maybe bump into Tony Bennett or Wayne Newton as I did. The Dunes was a fun place too but sometimes too smoky to stick around.

Loved the gambling there..got a free Presidential Suite once they gave my room away by mistake.Best room I ever stayed in. BUT loved the Victorian Rooms Graveyard Steak Special.That was our last stop every night 

@Ray - ok, thanks, I don't remember slot & vp machines at Holy Cow, too long ago I guess. Or maybe I was more interested in the beer and food and looking at those large beer-brewing machines each time I was there.

What about the gold spike, the opera house and the lucky dragon 

My first casino experience was in the 60s staying and gambling at the Thunderbird.  One of my friends from college was performing there and enjoyed very much came back several times.  They put me in a bungalow near the pool but only charged me for a regular room, wondered why maybe cause I was from Dallas :) and a sucker new to gambling

San Remo

Aladdin 

Hard Rock Casino

Not really a classic, but stayed there on the cheap several times. Hooter's too.

Westward Ho 

I miss all of the places listed, because every single one of them had better gambling, had better value, and was more fun than any Vegas casino that exists today. What we have now is a bunch of greedy asshole corporations that charge us $20 to park so we can come inside and play 6:5 blackjack.

I think the places I miss the most are the old Slipping Silver and the Cashaways (Silver Slipper/Silver City and Castaways), because they had good, cheap gambling and good, cheap eats--right in the middle of the Strip.

We had so many memorable moments at so many casinos during our annual whirlwind low-budget visits thru 80's and 90's, picking one is impossible.  We miss serendipity of catching an upncomer at one of the then ubiquitous comedy clubs or free lounge shows, IP's rotating Legends shows, LasVegas Club's sports memorabilia (where did it all go?), Stratosphere's affordable Danny Gans, $1175 royals everywhere, craps with sports personalities at Barbary Coast, 24 hr coffee shops at (I think thru the blur) Frontier and Stardust and Stardust sports book.  

Currently the "Fiesta Henderson". If I remember correctly, there was a pair of life size African Elephants on either side of the main entrance. I'll be dating myself, went to the Sands, Desert Inn, and the first Aladdin. Watched them building Bellagio and Paris. Love Las Vegas history. 

back when Jack was running it. Free parking, single-deck 3-2 Blackjack, steak special in the basement coffee shop, $1 million on display, and that classic low-ceiling, "San Francisco bordello" decor.
I miss some of the others, too, some from an even earlier era--Thunderbird, Stardust, Sands, Dunes, Terribles, Key Largo, Landmark, Frontier, Fitzgerald's (good $5 double-deck in the early days), and one or two others.
Never made it to Desert Inn, Castaways (either one), Pioneer, Silver Slipper, or Hacienda; and didn't hit Las Vegas Club until it was well into decline. Set foot in Caesars only once, and don't miss that one bit. 
But the Horseshoe under Benny & Jack was the best.

Slot Joynt - which became Holiday.  They had great food deals like full spaghetti dinner for $1.00.  We also miss Barbary Coast and tons of great times at Nob Hill.

I've stayed at five of these properties alone, gambled at many others. But if you're gonna put a gun to my head and force me to pick one, it would have to be the Hacienda (first place ever stayed at in Vegas) or the Las Vegas Club.

But second the nomination for the Gold Spike, nickel full pay pickem. And what about the original Sahara?

Debbie Reynolds, Stardust, Vegas World, Westward Ho

What about Mr. Sy's. Small place but when you went in all sorts of bells going off like jackpots are being hit with no one in the casino.

So my first time ever Downtown we stayed at the Las Vegas Club. Years later, i took my father with me for the first time and stayed there about 6 months before he passed. So even though it was a dump, it has a place in my heart. Next, the Stardust. i missed out on the Desert Inn, The Sands, etc so the next closest i got to old Vegas was the Stardust. i will never forget the time i was at the old Karaoke bar and this skinny, long haired guy was trying to sing Led Zeppelin Cashmere. Toward the end, when the lyrics simply consist of "ooh ooh yeah yeah, ooh ooh yeah yeah" etc and goes on for minutes, these two mafia looking guys sitting next to me say "if this guy keeps this up for another minute, i'm gonna whack him". i was seriously concerned for the skinny guy's life at that point. Third, the Holy Cow. This was before i knew to look around for Locals hangouts, so it was nice to have this little, small place where the people had time to converse and such. Beer was great, food was decent!

Miss the New Frontier where we first saw Beyond Belief In the 80's starring Siegfried and Roy (ever heard of them??)Also Showboat and their $2/2 lb hamburger and great Monday night football parties.Lady Luck for their jester key chains. Vegas was fun before greedy corps. Now you pay for parking and stupid resort fees and can't hardly get a free drink. The strip is not where I go anymore.

Not a classic, but stayed there for a good rate several times. Later Hooter's, also now gone.

These names bring back lots of memories. Maxim, Mint, Stardust (only the one with the Googie style signs though) and Hacienda. If my mom were alive I am sure she would want the old slot house Mr. Sy's across from the Stardust in the Fashion Square shopping center to be on this list. My mom loved the funbooks they'd give out there. :D

I miss the old Stardust - we could sense the history of the place, enjoyed the gaming, the food, and the rooms.

The Sands really treated horse players well. Low rollers like me got VIP welcome access.  Sadly the points I accrued vanished when they closed.

Barbary Coast! I loved the vibe, the immediate check in by the same desk guy for years, in and out of the room to the casino in a few minutes and of course, the people watching. Harrah’s ruined it when they bought it. You can’t go from BC to luxury with some paint, carpet and higher room rates. Bring back the Barbary Coast!!!

A Place in the Sun. What a place indeed!! Could feel the rat pack vibe even in the 80's. Stayed in the garden suites behind the tower. Sigma Derby. Great lounge live music. Old style Vegas but with a touch of class above the norm. Loved it and shed a tear when the place was imploded. The movie Ocean's 11 has it nicely preserved thankfully. Old Vegas YEA!!!! New Vegas UGH!!!!! All these comments make me miss it even more. Thanks for the memories everybody..............

Getting free beeds from a mermaid 

Oh how I miss the Lady Luck!  The hotel and casino staff were so friendly and made everyone feel important.  The comps were amazing.  The cocktail waitresses pushed the little carts around and made your drinks right on the spot.  I have visited the Downtown Grand and it is just not the same.

Loved all the shows they use to have there!  Many of which never found a home after they closed the Riv.

...the new ones or the originals?  In both cases the originals.

How about adding Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon.  I had so much fun there.  
Also, I can't remember the name of the other casino that closed somewhere near or next to Mermaids.

You forgot the Thunderbird. It was part of Caesar's World back then.

Cocktail people pushing around a cart to make your drinks at your table.Great slot club and decent gaming rules,cheap rooms.Good and cheap buffet.

How about the old Slot are Fun with $1 Coronas and craps at the sidewalk area

I miss a lot of the old casinos, but Mermaids was by far the most fun casino in Las Vegas.  It was small enough that the cocktail waitresses recognized us every time we walked in (and we're not locals).  The alcohol flowed freely in there and they really knew how to show you a good time.  We called it our "attitude adjustment place."  If the gambling was bad, we could always go in there and have a great time.  On four different occasions, we actually had strangers come up to us inside the casino, telling us how great Mermaids was.  When we agreed with them, they wanted to drink shots with us.  This has never happened in any other casino in the 20 years that we've been traveling to Las Vegas.  I don't think I'll ever forgive the Stevens brothers for closing Mermaids.  I'm sure they have no clue as to why Mermaids was so special to the people that patronized it.

I always enjoyed playing 21 there. The place had an eerie "mobbed-up" undercurrent. The pit bosses were often dressed in a tux. They seemed to always be on the phone while staring directly  at me. I can't explain it. It was an intimidating atmosphere and I liked it. And, Tony Roma's had the best ribs in town. Second only to Twin Anchors in Chicago.

I loved all the comments, includng Jahnke's lovely one, except they all make me want to cry.

A small correction to Jahnke's comment:

"I don't think I'll ever forgive the Stevens brothers for closing Mermaids. I'm sure they have no clue as to why Mermaids was so special to the people that patronized it."

Correction:
I'm sure they COULDN'T HAVE CARED LESS as to why Mermaids was so special to the people that patronized it.

Westward Ho, didn't they have free Ice cream and I remember free bloodies, stayed waaaaay in the back. Frontier had the huge Margaritas, and you kept the glass and I still have it!

The Sands Hotel and Casino was the classiest place I ever stayed. It was perfect. When it came down, I vowed to never stay on the strip again..and I haven't. 

Many fond memories were made playing dollar BJ at good old SC.
They had a great team of people working there.
Now that I'm older and have less tolerance, though, I can't imagine trying to cope with the permanent smoky haze.

I seem to remember Silver City was one of the first, if not *the* first, Strip casinos to go smoke-free in the early or mid-90s as an experiment. I don't know how long SC was smoke-free, but they probably didn't stick with the policy for long. I remember it was billed as a trial that if successful would expand to other casinos.

I loved coming to Vegas and going to the best Sportsbook in town. It was the place to be on a Saturday/Sunday during football season. I loved the massive boards with the numbers changed by hand. Wed see the board open up and someone on a ladder would change the number. The "Lottery" Sunday Night to determine who got to bet the games first and thus get the best number was awesome. I also loved the fact the Riviera book was a short distance away. You could run out the door for the Stardust, Jaywalk ("Jayrun" more like it across LV Blvd, dash thru the Riviera book (or Vice Versa) and hopefully find a better number at the Riv (Or Vuce Versa). I can't begin to count the number of times I won a bet at one book that I would not have won at the other. I miss the Stardust.

How about Purple Reign at the Boardwalk?

Might be too late, but always had a rousing good time at Slots of Fun