Kudos to Mark Brandenburg, the managing partner of the Golden Gate. His frequent on-site presence and accessibility to guests really brightened the experience of some recent Vegas visitors. They’d had multiple bad experiences at Binion’s Gambling Hall and the Four Queens. (So much for the new service ethic that Terry Caudill supposedly brought when he purchased those Downtown institutions.) By contrast, their stay at the Gate was distinguished by good customer service, and by Brandenburg’s gracious and good-humored interventions on their behalf.
They also give the Gate praise for its ginormous Cobb salad — haven’t tried it myself, but maybe I should — among other gustatory pleasures. (Could it be bigger than the Peppermill‘s banana split? That thing’s the size of Palazzo.) There was less praise for other Downtown casino restaurants, including one that served what is described as shoe leather masquerading as fish.
Back when I profiled it for Casino Executive Magazine (R.I.P.), the Golden Gate was by far the most charming of the Downtown casinos. I’m glad to hear that, in this age of mega- and meta-, the “small is beautiful” mindset is still paying dividends. If you want to see “old” Vegas in the truest and best sense of the term, it’s the place to go.
