Latest news with #FremontStreetExperience
Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Gambler bets $1.75 on popular slot machine — then hits jackpot at Vegas casino
A lucky gambler from California won a big jackpot off a slot machine in Las Vegas. Now the player is $416,949 richer. The visitor sat at a 'Wheel of Fortune' slot machine Friday, May 23, at the Fremont Hotel & Casino, the casino said in a news release. The player bet $1.75, hit spin and watched as the symbols flashed across the screen until a jackpot message appeared. The casino said the gambler hit the 'Gold Spin' bonus. Fremont Hotel & Casino is in downtown Las Vegas, and it's part of the Fremont Street Experience. Gamblers have been going to the iconic casino since it opened in 1956. Another person also won a big jackpot in Vegas recently. The lucky traveler won $1.8 million off a slot machine at the Harry Reid International Airport.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chasing the Ghosts of Old Las Vegas
It has been nearly 85 years since the first resort opened on the Las Vegas Strip but absolutely no trace of it remains. El Rancho Vegas burned down in 1960 and its scorched earth remains barren to this day, hidden under a slab of concrete. The city is so good at destroying history that chasing remnants of vintage Vegas is like ghost hunting, but with better lodging and delicious food. No EMF Meter is needed to feel the spirits at the Neon Museum after dark. The giant neon signs in the boneyard once entertained millions with light and color and movement, but have moldered into rusting steel and broken glass. A high-tech light show called Brilliant! Jackpot simulates animation through projection, and for a moment gives the illusion of life with music and energy, before the behemoths fade back to black. Other fragments of the lost city live on at the Mob Museum downtown, where you can ogle Meyer Lansky's art deco cigarette case and Bugsy Siegel's aviator sunglasses. The ghost of gangster Siegel looms over the El Cortez Hotel. The newly renovated Downtown landmark has the onetime owner/mob boss' mug plastered everywhere from the ice machine to the men's room. The entrance to casino restaurant Siegel's 1941 is framed by a neon signature that matches not only the high-backed banquettes but the classic chicken parm that I scarfed down before heading to a concert at the hotel's new ShowBar. I learned the term 'table touching' from an old maître d' who explained the importance of a personal connection to each patron. Owner Kitty Heck at Hot Noodz, the hotel's new Chinese fusion restaurant is a master of it, sharing stories about her family, including Michelin-starred dad in the kitchen, as she checked on her devoted customers. El Cortez is drenched in enough vintage neon to fill you with the spirit of old Las Vegas yet just far enough from the madness of the Fremont Street Experience that it's practically genteel. Book a room in the 'Original 47' wing or for a taste of Dynasty-era opulence, check out the original suite of onetime owner Jackie Gaughan on the top floor. Gaughan once owned much of downtown including the Plaza and a piece of the Golden Nugget. In 1979, he and his son Michael built the Barbary Coast next door to the Flamingo, where he opened his opulent Michael's Gourmet Room restaurant. No place else captures the Casino-era like the outrageously decadent dining room, which was carefully taken apart and moved to the South Point casino when the original hotel closed. This palace of Continental cuisine was inspired by the Flamingo's Candlelight Room and is filled with stained glass, tuxedoed waiters, and flaming tableside preparations. I enjoyed the most lavish meal of my life amidst all of this magnificence in a plush, dim room that was so magical I expected the candelabras to break into song. No ghosts required. LAS VEGAS LOUNGES At the height of Las Vegas cool in the 1950s and 60s, the big names playing the showrooms would sneak in to see the late-night shows in the hotel lounges. The town was awash in live entertainment and the tradition lives on in a few rooms. These are our favorite lounges, some with music, all with cocktails, and each one worth it for the vibe alone. BOOTLEGGER Before she built her dream Italian restaurant fifty years ago, Bootlegger owner Lorraine Hunt-Bono was herself a Las Vegas singer. Today, her sprawling complex features nightly live entertainment into the wee hours. We loved sultry Rita Lim who channeled everyone from Peggy Lee to Karen Carpenter on our visit. GOLDEN STEER This iconic wood-paneled steakhouse has been rolling out the beef since 1958, but with Saturday reservations already full for the entire summer your best bet is to belly up to the bar. Their lounge menu features cocktails inspired by Frank, Dean and Sammy and the people watching is top notch. ITALIAN AMERICAN CLUB Outside, the 65-year old private club is stone and statuary and fountains, inside there's a mosaic of celebrity headshots leading to the stage where this summer you'll see tributes to Luther Vandross and Barbra Streisand. Non-Italians can join the club and anyone can purchase a '30 Day Social Membership' for $1. PEPPERMILL Is it day or night or 1972? Deep inside this dark lounge tucked into a coffee shop is a sunken circular pink marble conversation pit with hot tub water gurgling and flames shooting out of the center. That's where you want to be when your Pink Squirrel cocktail arrives, lounging on gold velour and about to set sail.
Los Angeles Times
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The Vegas Minute: Do This Once! (Or Maybe Twice.)
Las Vegas is a city of firsts: Nevada (and by extension, Vegas) was first to legalize gaming in 1931. The concept of the mega-casino was born here (there's a giant pyramid hotel, built in 1992, on the Strip after all). And the city was the first to cover an entire section of city blocks with a giant screen, creating the eye-popping Fremont Street Experience. So, it should come as no surprise that there are many things one can do in Vegas that are hard, if not impossible, to find anywhere else in the world. How lucky are we to have this right in our own backyard? Next time you're there – and let's face it, Angelenos go to Vegas a LOT – experience the city in a way you haven't thought to do before. 'Roll' In While it's true the Vegas landmark has lost its superfluous 'tallest' crown, the High Roller, an 'observation wheel' sitting directly on the Strip center and towering over almost everything, remains among the largest Ferris Wheels in the world. (Only Ain Dubai, opened in 2021, is taller.) But 550 feet is enough to offer a bird's-eye view of Sin City and far beyond from the comfort of your enclosed 'pod.' To get a sense of scale, each cabin on the wheel can hold 40 people. Try the 'Happy Half Hour' – an open bar in the sky for you and your friends as you take in the marvelous evening view – it might be the most 'elevated' cocktail you've ever tried. Take a DriveLos Angeles is a car town, and maybe even more than that, it's a place where you'll see some of the wildest exotics roaming the backroads (or suffering in traffic with us mere mortals). However, if you want to get yourself behind the wheel of one of these supercars, you'll have to either make some powerful – and trusting – friends, or head to Las Vegas Speedway. That's where Exotics Racing can connect enthusiasts with the vehicles of their dreams, unleashing them on the famed track. If you've ever wanted to feel the raw surge of power from a biturbo Ferrari or the 690HP of a Porsche 991 GT2 RS, you have 'car' blanche to do so. If this all seems like too much, Exotics Racing offers go-karts so you can get the thrill and bragging rights while keeping it under 100mph. Float OutIt's just a half hour outside of Las Vegas, AND it's one of the reasons the city can exist: the famed Hoover Dam, which supplies the entire region with both water and power. The landmark public works project, possibly the most-recognized dam in the world, is cool, sure, but doesn't exactly warrant a 'once-in-a-lifetime' moniker. That is, until you're in a raft looking straight up at the 700-plus-foot-tall structure (and trying not to think about just how much water it's holding back.) Hoover Dam Rafting Adventures, who just started up their 2025 season in late February, have the tour, which takes you up the Colorado River and into the shadow of the arched concrete dam via a large and comfy raft, allows for an entirely unique perspective of both the site and the more recent Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, the largest concrete arch bridge in the U.S. In addition, the float down the river connects you with some amazing natural sights, including migratory birds, Bighorn sheep and beautiful natural formations.
