Mermaids, Glitter Gulch and La Bayou closed on Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience has taken a sad hit with the closing of Mermaids, La Bayou and the Girls of Glitter Gulch. They've been bought out by Derek and Greg Stevens - owners of the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate casinos in the Fremont Street area. The story is they plan to develop all of these into one large casino. So the west end of Fremont Street looks to be choked with construction for the foreseeable future.

And yes, I know it is Las Vegas, and Sin City is all about continuously reinventing yourself, but geesh - I loved those places.

Girls of Glitter Gulch

No, I haven't been inside. The GGG is/was downtown's only strip club. And while I had been tempted to take a few hours to check out the goings on and naked ladies inside Glitter Gulch - strictly for tour guide research purposes of course! -I never did. But I am worried about Las Vegas Vicky - the neon cowgirl lighting up the night in front of Glitter Gulch. I sooooo hope that she doesn't get relegated to some back corner of the Neon Museum.

Vicky has a ton of history, and I plan to write a post on her in the coming days.

La Bayou 

La Bayou was the very first licensed casino in Nevada - opening as the Northern Club in 1931. It has had a lot of names over the years, including the Monte Carlo Club and Coin Castle. Even sadder, La Bayou was the last holdout of using all coin operated machines. That's right, in today's modern casino environment where you have to worry about cashing in slips of paper, you still heard that satisfying clink-clink-clink-clink of coins paying you off. 

As far as I know, only the El Cortez still has any coin operated machines left. Anyone know of any others?

Mermaids

And of course Mermaids - and I have spent a lot of time at this old place. Like most people, I was not interested in the slots but in the fried foods in back. The litany of arterial clogging comestibles was heart warming, including deep fried twinkies, deep fried oreos, deep fried PBJs, as well as cheap hot dogs and drinks.

Confession: On my downtown tours I often release my clients for them to spend 30-60 minutes exploring on their own. Me? I'd head to Mermaids for a drink or a severely unhealthy snack. 

What is coming?

Answer: I don't know, although I have liked what the Stevens boys have done at the D and Golden Gate. Still, I have a feeling I am going to miss these old classic Fremont Street Institutions.