Tuesday Treasures

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

February 2025 - Las Vegas NV

We came across this, the other day.

Photo taken January 2015 when the Goose was still on Fremont.

The Golden Goose was a casino located on 20 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. It was the first casino to be fully owned by Herb Pastor and first opened in 1975. It later closed in 1991 after Pastor bought the Glitter Gulch Casino and converted both properties into a gentlemen's club, known as the Girls of Glitter Gulch, now also closed.

Remembering Old Las Vegas

 June 2024 - Las Vegas NV

I was comparing our Fremont St. Las Vegas photos from 2012/13 when we wintered in Las Vegas and a 2015 visit, with our recent March 2024 trip.

March 2024 - New name/sign on the Strip (to us). The sign is on the Plaza Hotel, connecting the Garage Mahal (parking Main Street) to the Circa (Fremont St.) with an above street walkway.

Circa 2024 photo from TripAdvisor

Circa Resort & Casino is a casino and hotel resort in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, on the Fremont Street Experience. The property was previously occupied by the Las Vegas Club hotel-casino, the Mermaids Casino, and the Glitter Gulch strip club.

La Bayou was a casino located on the Fremont Street.

Taken 2012.

Taken 2015.

The business opened in 1913 as the Las Vegas Coffee House.

In 1920 Mayme Stocker renamed it the Northern Club, offering liquor and gambling when both were illegal, during the Prohibition era. "Northern" was a well-known code word among railroad workers for an establishment serving alcohol.

On March 20, 1931, the Northern Club received the first Nevada gaming license. This was also the first gaming license issued to a woman, Mayme Stocker.

By 1941, Bugsy Siegel and Dave Stearns were operating the club.
Turf Club, Monte Carlo Club, 1940s-1960s

In 1943, Turf Club replaced Northern Club. It ran only until 1945 when Wilbur Clark leased the club, renaming it the Monte Carlo Club. The Stockers continued to run the Northern Hotel on the second floor until 1949. Monte Carlo Club would close in 1956, but remain in business as a bar until the 1960s. The original building was razed after 1965. A new building was erected, where a Denny's diner opened c. 1967–1968, followed by Sam's Roast Beef c. 1968–1969.

Coin Castle: 1970-99
By 1970, the site was operating as the Coin Castle. Herb Pastor was approved to take over the Coin Castle and the nearby Golden Goose casino in 1977. Pastor would later also own the nearby Sassy Sally's casino and the Girls of Glitter Gulch strip club.

La Bayou: 1999-2016
Pastor decided in 1999 to move ahead with a renovation plan to transform the Coin Castle and Sassy Sally's into La Bayou and Mermaids, respectively, for a total of $6 million.

In 2006, Pastor's son, Steve Burnstine, purchased the two casinos and the strip club.

Closing: 2016

In April 2016, Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of the neighboring Golden Gate and Las Vegas Club casinos, purchased the three properties, and announced that the businesses would close on June 27. It was razed soon after. The Golden Gate's expansion into the former space opened at noon on August 25, 2017.

Taken 2012-2013.

Las Vegas Club (2013) now Circa.

Mermaids Casino was a casino located on the Fremont Street. Taken 2012-2013.

When the Silver Palace casino opened in the summer of 1956, it was the first two-level club in Las Vegas, and the escalator, connecting the casino with the lower-level restaurant, was the first in Southern Nevada.

Various name changes (1964-1999)
The Silver Palace gave way to Carousel Casino in July 1964, followed by Gambler's Hall of Fame Casino in 1974. In 1976 the property became Sundance West, followed by Sassy Sally's in 1980.

Mermaids Casino (1999-2016)
In 1999, owner Herb Pastor decided to move ahead with a renovation plan to transform it into Mermaids, and renovate his nearby Coin Castle casino into La Bayou, for a total of $6 million.
In 2006, Pastor sold the two casinos and his neighboring strip club to his son, Steve Burnstine.

Closing (2016)

In April 2016, Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of the neighboring Golden Gate, the D, and Las Vegas Club casinos, purchased the four properties (Mermaids Casino, La Bayou Casino, Glitter Gulch Gentleman's Club} plus the corporate office located at 111 N. 1st Street) and announced that the businesses would close on June 27. It was demolished over the course of 2017 along with the Las Vegas Club and the Glitter Gulch strip club to make way for the Circa Resort & Casino, which opened in December 2020.

Vegas Vickie, Sin City's iconic kicking neon cowgirl sign, was named "Sassy Sally" when she first hung over the entrance to the Glitter Gulch casino in 1980. Then in 1994 she "married" a neighboring neon sign cowboy, Vegas Vic, and acquired her current name.

Time took its toll on Vegas Vickie, as it does to all Las Vegas showgirls. Her makeovers grew increasingly involved and expensive, and when Glitter Gulch closed in June 2017, Vickie was taken down and hauled away, her future uncertain.

Taken 2012

What goes around, comes around.

Making her grand return to Downtown Las Vegas, the celebrated kicking cowgirl first appeared on the dazzling Downtown landscape in 1980 and became a must-see landmark on the Fremont Street Experience. With the goal of uniting old and new Vegas in never-before-seen ways, Stevens acquired the sign in 2016 with the intent to give Vickie a new home at Circa. After a fresh makeover, Vegas Vickie now resides in Circa’s lobby at her namesake bar.

Signs

 Joining Tom at Signs2

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

March 2024 - Las Vegas NV

Yep, there’s a piece of the Berlin Wall in the men’s restroom just off the casino floor at Main Street Station. Women can view the Berlin Wall, too, of course. Just ask a security officer for an escort. Don’t make it weird.

How and why this historic fragment ended up in such an unusual location isn’t known. When the property was purchased by new owners in the 1990s, the wall was already a part of the bathroom decor.

On a more genteel topic is the stained glass at the casino.

 

2006 Las Vegas NV

 November 2006 - Las Vegas NV

I realized that we had been in Vegas in 2006 and had never posted it. We flew in and rented a car.

This is mainly a collection of photos, in no particular order, as I don't have any notes and wasn't blogging!! 

We stayed at The Cliffs At Peace Canyon.

Driving to the Strip at night.

Now The Horseshoe...

Caesar's Palace

Harrah's

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar never reopened after the pandemic.

Mirage

We did The Paris Experience. 2024 ticket price is $25.

Venetian

We went to the factory outlets.

John golfed a fair bit.

Fremont - click here for Fremont in 2024!

More golf.

Golf....

Click here for a separate post of The Valley of Fire that we also visited.

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area [RRCNCA] is located just a few miles west of Las Vegas and encompasses 195,819 acres within the Mojave Desert. Red Rock Canyon is an area of worldwide geologic interest and beauty.

Click here for other visits.

The 13 mile Scenic Drive through Red Rock Canyon allows visitors to explore the highs and lows of the canyon from their vehicle or bicycle, with many scenic stops and and trailheads along the way.

Lake Mead and Boulder City.

Click here for our 2015 visit.

Golf...

The Palmers

Bonnie Springs

The ranch was originally created in the 1840s, as a stopover for wagon trains heading to California. Bonnie McGaugh purchased the ranch in 1952, and it was subsequently named Bonnie Springs Ranch after her. Horseback riding and a restaurant were added by the mid-1960s. Old Nevada, the western town replica, was opened at the ranch in 1974, followed by the zoo and a motel in the 1980s. In January 2019, plans were announced to demolish the ranch and replace it with approximately 20 custom homes, a new restaurant and motel, and a barn to be used for events. Bonnie Springs closed on March 17, 2019. 

The menu is printed on the bottles, click for a larger view.

We went to Kilroy's for burgers. It closed in 2010.

Area 51

In Southern Nevada, just on the other side of Groom Lake, lies a military base that has been in question ever since its establishment by the US government back in the early 50's. Rumors about Area 51 run rampant throughout the whole United States. From flying saucers, aliens, to secret government projects, there are all kinds of stories.

Surrounding the secret military base are several signs like the one on the left, stating you are entering a Restricted Area. *AND* if you enlarge the sign, you will see in RED PRINT on the Very bottom of the sign reads bluntly: Use of Deadly Force Authorized!

I really wanted to get a photo of that sign, but once we drove up to the fenced area, I chickened out as I could see the armed guards patrolling the area from above us.

While easy to get to, you still have to prepare. You definitely don't want to wander onto the base by accident. The security guards won't care that you are a UFO fan who is visiting just for fun. Even though you don't see much, the drive is still interesting because of the mystery surrounding Area 51.

Look what happened on this tour!

I am including a video I found as the US Government had for years stated that Area 51 does exist. I'm so glad as I wondered how I had these photos in my possession.

Photos below are my property!

We had some down time!

We took an overnight trip to Mesquite. We also went there in 2015.