Golden Gate

Vegas Rants: Keeping Las Vegas History Alive


Matty Ice wants to keep Las Vegas, Las Vegas.

When Sammasseur wrote a great piece asking if Vegas is trying to drive us away, one quote in particular resonated with me: Branden Powers said (on Vegas) “I want to make sure that its past is not forgotten. People want to experience the Las Vegas of yesteryear because they love its history as much as I do. We need to make sure that is protected. Our history like all things in the desert is slowly evaporating.”

This quote resonated with me, even though I couldn’t enjoy Vegas until 2012. I love visiting Las Vegas, and I’ve never quite pinned down exactly why. Sure I enjoy eating a good meal, drinking in the street, gambling, and seeing shows, but I could do most of that within a 30-minute drive from my house. I love Vegas for the history and one of a kind atmosphere you get from that.

Sure, OMNIA is a great club, The T-Mobile Arena is bringing in great shows, The Cosmopolitan is a gorgeous resort, and for some reason, I’m seeing bar shuffleboard set up on casino floors. But while you can see a great DJ or sports game in most major cities, you don’t have the ability to walk through the Flamingo and get a drink at Bugsy’s Bar or catch a show in a lounge that the likes of Sinatra and Sammy Davis played. You just can’t replicate the rich history of Las Vegas anywhere else.

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There’s something special about dressing well and enjoying a martini at The Venetian and wondering how it looked when Frank, Dino, and Sammy were walking around The Sands. Walking through the SLS is an aesthetic all-white nightmare, but knowing I’m walking through the bones of The Sahara, (the hottest hotel in Vegas back in the day) is pretty cool.

First Vegas Trip

As someone who never got to experience “Old Vegas” or even the themed Luxor and Treasure Island of days gone by (luckily I was able to walk through the Riviera before implosion for the liquidation sale), I try to soak up as much Vegas as I can when I’m there. Because you never know when something will change to squeeze more profit out of the square footage. I get it, these companies have to make money and keep their shareholders happy, but I feel like the character of the city is being scrubbed away little by little (I dare you to tell me what theme separates Aria, Cosmo, and SLS).

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Because of this changing Vegas landscape, I make sure that I do get a chance to see the Mirage volcano erupt, head downtown and play some hold ’em at Binion’s, and eat at a place like Battista’s Hole in the Wall while I have the chance. While I never experienced a resort fee-less Vegas, I do notice the changes happening each trip I take. Slowly but surely there is de-theming going on at every turn, gambling options are getting worse, and buying a bottle of wine and steak dinner for two is turning into a mortgage payment.

Luckily the history of Vegas is not entirely dead. Downtown still does well keeping us shrouded in neon with many wallet-friendly options for gaming, dining, and drinking, the Neon Museum helps keep history preserved by letting you take a literal walk through Vegas history while seeing the signs from old relics like The Stardust, The Aladdin, and The Algiers. It’s like taking a step back in time to Lost Vegas.

Places like The Golden Steer, The Golden Tiki, and Atomic Liquors are keeping history alive as well, and at the very least doing their best to channel the vibe of the city and pay homage to what Vegas used to be.

The Vegas landscape keeps changing and probably always will. This is the only city in the world that implodes its history to build new shiny buildings. We’ll all be along for the ride watching places we love get rebranded or turned to rubble completely. That’s why I find it so important to experience all the Vegas I can while I’m in town.

While downtown still does its best to keep “Old Vegas” alive and well, you can’t help but wonder if this will always be the case. As new generations come into Vegas, as old properties get bought and rebranded, is it just a matter of time until we’re headed to Boulder Highway to find a 3:2 blackjack game? I hope not. Honestly, I don’t think it will ever be that dire. But for a city that thrived and was put on the map mid-century based on uniqueness and quality entertainment, I’d love to see more people like Branden Powers who want to make sure Vegas keeps some of those characteristics that initially made it prominent and celebrated. And, for lack of better words: Keeps Las Vegas, Las Vegas.

[Photos: Sands Corp., VegasCasinoGuide, Greg C, Michael Movestro]

15 thoughts on “Vegas Rants: Keeping Las Vegas History Alive

  1. You hit my top two picks for restaurants! Battista’s and Golden Steer, both are great places to get that old Vegas feel!

  2. Great article! I’ve only been going to Vegas for a little over a decade, but even in the relatively short amount of time a good part of its character has been lost. I haven’t given up on the chance that they will invent a time machine that will allow me to go back and See Louis Prima at the Sahara.

    1. Thanks for the kind words Robert. I’m headed back in January and will need to hit all my nostalgia spots, too much change happening!

  3. Nice read. Some of my favorite LV Classic spots are: Peppermill, Circus Circus [still has a funky 70’s/80’s look on the inside], El Cortez, Binions, etc…. I started going to Las Vegas on my own around 2007 when I turned 21 and it was in the middle of the recession so getting a room in DTLV for free or under $20 with no resort fee was the norm. I miss staying at the old dumpy Plaza before its modern renovation… I miss walking the Freemont canopy as a 21 year old on my own in Las Vegas simply there to gamble. I didnt know that i was creating nostalgic memories. Now everytime I go back i try and recapture that same feeling but its gone. I still have fun in Las Vegas but it hasnt been the same post-recession.

    1. Head to Peppermill while you can! The lot is up for sale (although I doubt anything will happen to Pepermill)

  4. “The Sands was there, Desert Inn.
    They built them a lot smaller back then.
    They seemed pretty big.
    Town’s changed.” – Danny Ocean

  5. What a GREAT article. I am so afraid of what’s happening with the property purchases downtown. If they attempt to upscale or update this last vestige of what Las Vegas is truly all about I sincerely think it will be the beginning of the end. The best line of the article “I dare you to tell me what theme separates Aria, Cosmo, and SLS” will turn into I dare you to tell me what theme separates Las Vegas with any other gambling area in the USA. Every time I read one of these articles it makes me want to take a trip to Vegas if only for the reason I want to catch it one more time before it’s ruined. I truly think a new casino should be built. Call it “The Dunesands Desert Inn”. Walking through it’s doors would be like walking back in time.

    1. Thanks for the kind words Barry, I completely agree on the blandness of casino themes now across Vegas. I’d love to see a “retro” hotel go up.

  6. Great article. Thanks. I first went as a kid with my dad in the early 70’s. I started going regularly about 2010. Each time I go there is a little less “Vegas” in Vegas. I am seriously getting to point where I will spend my vacation time somewhere else. And that makes me sad.

  7. My number one complaint with Vegas in the 12 years I’ve been going is the disappearing themes. PLEASE bring back the themes! I’ve got an MGM Grand and 2 other casinos 20 minutes from my house. There was always something about going to Vegas for the themes though. I get that the town is going to change, so I’m not upset with The Riv, Stardust & Sahara going away. What upsets me is when they get replaced with absolutely no personality. I’d take The Boardwalk back in a heartbeat over giant ball of blah that is the City Center. If you’re going to charge us Resort Fees, then let there be a reason. Charge me all you want for the atmosphere, I’m totally fine with that and I believe many others would be as well.

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