The old downtown Las Vegas, Fremont Street was the traditional center of activity. The first hotel and first casino in the city was built here in the 1910s and 1920s respectively. By the 1950s, it was synonymous with the glamor and energy of Las Vegas, with such legendary casinos as Binion's Horseshoe, Four Queens, and Golden Nugget while "Vegas Vic", the Las Vegas Cowboy, beckoned visitors to the Pioneer Club.
The bright neon quickly gave Fremont Street the nickname, "Glitter Gulch". Dozens of media portrayals were set here, from Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas to the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever to the U2 video for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
On the far right is the red lights of Fremont Casino, opened in 1956 as the tallest building in Nevada, expanding in 1963 and again in 1974.
Left of that is Binion's Horseshoe, which opened in 1951 under "colorful" "cowboy" and Dallas mob boss Benny Binion after he was driven out of Dallas by rivals. Binion's was the first casino in Vegas with carpeting, and was popular (and extremely profitable) for the high table limits, black car & limousine transport, free drinks, all of which eventually became a part of the city's gambling culture. He also offered $2 steaks, courtesy of his own ranch.
The casino was also renowned for its $1,000,000 wall made up of $10,000 bills. After Benny's death, his son Jack purchased the neighboring The Mint Casino (famed as the setting of Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and set up the World Series of Poker here in 1970.
In 1998 Jack's sister Becky seized control of the casino after a protracted legal struggle and basically ran it to the ground, setting a series of unpopular cost-cutting measures. In 2002 the casino went bankrupt and closed after Becky failed a dispute with her workers over pension payments and FBI agents raided the premises. The casino was sold to Harrah's Entertainment, who reopened the casino but not the hotel.
In the middle Left is Golden Nugget, the largest casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Opened in 1946, it became where Steve Wynn first controlled a casino in 1973, starting his entertainment empire. Steven then sold his control to Kirk Kevorkian, launching what would become the massive MGM Mirage casino chain.
Finally on the far left is Four Queens, built in 1964 and named after Ben Goffstein's four daughters, Faith, Hope, Benita, and Michele.
Overhead the Fremont Street Experience is playing, the massive 27m high and 460m canopy playing various popular songs.
Las Vegas, Nevada
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