Two new casinos opened in Las Vegas last week. Neither casino is a full-service property like those in the touristy parts of Las Vegas.
Ojos Locos Sports Cantina Y Casino opened in North Las Vegas, about 20 minutes north of the Fremont Street Experience. Station Casinos’ Wildfire on Fremont opened near Boulder Highway. This casino is about a 10-minute drive east of the Fremont Street Experience.
There are numerous types of casinos in Las Vegas. Generally, the casinos on the Vegas Strip or downtown Las Vegas are casino hotels or casino resorts, depending on the amenities.
Casino hotels away from these two areas that are frequented by the vast majority of tourists are considered “locals casinos.” These properties are full-service casinos and hotels with amenities like restaurants, movie theaters, and bowling alleys that Las Vegas residents enjoy regularly. These casinos are geared toward residents or tourists looking for something different or less expensive stay.
Lastly, there are neighborhood casinos. These are the small casinos with only gaming machines like slots or electronic table games that are located throughout Las Vegas. They’re often located in shopping plazas and around the same size as retail outlets.
The two new Nevada casinos that opened last week fall under the neighborhood casino category.
Both casinos are small and were built mostly for locals who live in the neighborhoods of the respective properties. Both have machine games, sportsbooks and a few dining options.
Like some other off-strip neighborhood casinos, neither has live dealer table games or other entertainment options. That’s often fine for residents looking for a low-key place to gamble and grab a bite or drink.
Wildfire On Fremont
Station Casinos operates nearly a dozen neighborhood casinos around Las Vegas. Some of the Henderson, NV casinos have unique names or amenities:
- Barley’s Casino & Brewery
- The Greens
- Wildfire Casino & Lanes
Most Station Casinos neighborhood casinos operate under the Wildfire brand. These are located in the following areas of Las Vegas:
- Anthem
- Boulder
- Fremont
- Lake Mead
- Rancho
- Sunset
- Valley View
Wildfire on Fremont is not located in the touristy part of the street. For reference, the casino is a 30-minute walk or 10-minute drive from the Fremont Street Experience.
Wildfire on Fremont has a 21,000-square-foot casino. The casino has approximately 200 slot machines, bar-top gaming, and a handful of electronic table games like roulette and craps. Additionally, there’s a small eight-seat sportsbook and a few keno-only machines.
There’s also an IHOP and Tacos El Pastor for anyone looking to grab a bite. The bar is the centerpiece of Wildfire on Fremont with 16 65” TVs that are somewhat viewable from most of the casino.
The new casino also allows the use of STN Cash. This is Station Casinos’ cashless gaming platform.
Like other Station Casinos properties, Wildfire on Fremont is connected with the Boarding Pass rewards program. Points earned here can be used at other Station Casinos properties.
Ojos Locos Sports Cantina Y Casino
Ojos Locos Sports Cantina Y Casino at Hotel El Jefe is a mouthful. The casino and hotel replace the former Lucky Club in North Las Vegas. This property is being billed as “the first U.S. hotel-casino dedicated to the Latino community.”
This is a collaboration between the operators of Downtown Grand, Fifth Street Gaming, and the Ojos Locos Sports Cantina chain of restaurants. Like Wildfire on Fremont, this is a small neighborhood casino.
The casino clocks in at 10,000 square feet. There are about 200 slot machines and electronic table games. The main bar has video poker machines and seating for 35 people.
There are 90 TVs throughout the property to watch sports. Bettors can place wagers at the William Hill sportsbook. This location of the Ojos Locos Sports Cantina restaurant has seating for 300 people.
The hotel has 90 rooms. Some are still under construction. There are a handful of new rooms are available now with the entire hotel renovation on schedule to be completed by the end of the year.
More Casinos Scheduled To Open This Year
Two, traditional “Vegas-style” casinos are on schedule to open by the end of the year.
Fontainebleau on the north end of the Vegas Strip near Resorts World, Sahara, and Wynn is on schedule to open later this year.
The humongous 67-story blue building will feature 3,000 hotel rooms and suites when it opens. This will be a luxury property that brings the South Beach “Fontainebleau culture” to Las Vegas.
Specifics on the property are mostly under wraps but the property will have numerous restaurants, a rooftop pool complex, day and night clubs, health and wellness offerings, as well as meeting rooms and convention space.
Durango Casino is currently under construction with a fourth-quarter opening date scheduled. The new Station Casinos property is located in the southwest area of Las Vegas just off the I-215 freeway.
The 83,000-square-foot casino will have a full array of machine games as well as live dealer table games. Durango Casino will also have a state-of-the-art sportsbook. The property will use Station Casinos’ Boarding Pass rewards program.
The hotel will have 200 rooms. Dining options at the casino include a few full-service restaurants and a rather large food hall for those just looking for a quick bite or one of the best cups of coffee in Las Vegas.
