[toc]Downtown Las Vegas‘ ongoing facelift continued last week with one iconic property doubling the size of its casino in less than five days.
The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino on Fremont Street was the latest Derek and Greg Stevens-owned Downtown Las Vegas property to undergo a massive renovation. However, this one took just 106 hours to complete.
After months of planning, construction began Monday morning and a soft re-opening went ahead at noon Friday.
Golden Gate casino size doubled
The Golden Gate’s casino floor expanded to nearly double its size. It took over the Le Bayou Casino next door, as well as the alley that once separated the two properties.
The new Nevada casino space includes 100 new slot machines and a 24-foot TV tower centerpiece.
Golden Gate’s One Bar at One Fremont Street gained twenty feet of bar space. The bar fronts the property along the Fremont Street Experience. Plus, the renovation revamped the property’s Fremont Street facade to include a velvet-draped casino entrance.
The entire property got new fixtures and carpeting. Plus, crews renovated the restrooms. The casino’s Club 1906 loyalty card membership desk moved to a new location as well.
Months of planning goes in to 106-hour job
Derek Stevens told the Las Vegas Review-Journal it took eight months of planning to coordinate the 106-hour renovation. The property closed at 2 a.m. local time Monday. Approximately 140 shift workers were on the job around the clock until Friday’s 12 p.m. reopening.
Stevens said the threat of rain on Thursday almost caused delays, but when it stayed dry, construction crews were able to complete the job.
The oldest hotel on the Fremont Street Experience
The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino is the oldest hotel on the Fremont Street Experience. It originally opened as the Hotel Nevada on January 13, 1906. There was a casino there until the state banned gambling in 1909. Nevada law changed to allow gambling again in 1931. The property was renamed Sal Sagev and the casino reopened that year.
The property’s name changed to Golden Gate in 1955 and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino in 1974. The Stevens brothers purchased 50 percent of the property in 2006. They since bought it outright and built a five-story luxury hotel tower, new lobb,y and exterior in 2012.
Transforming the way visitors experience Downtown Las Vegas
The Stevens brothers are committed to transforming the way visitors experience Downtown Las Vegas. They bought Fitzgeralds Las Vegas down the street from the Golden Gate in 2011, and completed a $22 million renovation and rebranding, turning it into the D Las Vegas a year later. The William Hill Sports Book also opened up at the D.
In 2014, the Stevens brothers also spent $10 million tearing down the former courthouse on Carson and 3rd, and replacing it with the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
They also purchased a number of Fremont Street Experience properties, including the Las Vegas Club, beginning demolition to make way for a new resort project earlier this year. The tentatively named 18th Fremont Street hotel-casino project is said to be progressing on schedule.
Photo by 4kclips / Shutterstock.com
- $100 in Bonus Play on 1st Deposit
- 100% up to $1,000 on Deposit
- Use Bonus Code: 25FREE
