Where’s The Gambling?
May 21, 2010
How about a round of applause for a little more Downtown redevelopment …
The Las Vegas City Council today unanimously approved leasing a city-owned, three-story former retail store to a pair of developers who hope to turn it into a nightclub that will help light up downtown’s Fremont East District.
The building, at the southeast corner of Fremont Street and Sixth Street, is envisioned to have a nightclub within about a year to a year and a half, and will also be used for retail space and condominiums, according to the developers.
Terry Caudill, who owns the Four Queens and Binion’s casinos, and Carlos “Big Daddy” Adley and his wife, Ava Berman Adley, who own the Velvet Margarita in Hollywood, have formed a limited liability corporation to lease the property, called 601 Fremont LLC.
“We’re going to bring in some of the top retail, restaurant and amenities, literally in the country to this spot,” Adley said outside the council room after the vote.
“There will be a restaurant, nightclub and an ultralounge on the first floor,” Adley said. “The second floor will be retail. And the third floor will be condos. . . We want to open as soon as possible.”
I read this article today, and noticed that the newspaper didn’t have a picture of the property in question, so of course I had to go and take a few. When I got to the intersection of 6th and Fremont, I recognized the building, but it immediately struck me as an odd place for a nightclub/retail property. I mean, we already have a place on the eastern edge of Fremont Street Experience which sort of tries to do the same thing, and that place is called Neonopolis.
Downtown Las Vegas - 601 Fremont Street
Downtown Las Vegas - 601 Fremont Street
Downtown Las Vegas - 601 Fremont Street
Downtown Las Vegas - 601 Fremont Street
Apparently, Neonopolis has been so successful, that we now need a “Neonopolis II”. Who knew?
Look, I’m not trying to be a naysayer. I stand up and salute those who are trying to make Downtown (where I technically live) better than it is now. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, but the thing I don’t understand is this — Why does everyone in this town always do the exact same thing?
I have so many ideas (yet no money) that could potentially be a huge shot in the arm to this city, yet everybody out there with money has decided to invest in the same idea over and over and over again:
Clubs
Be they nightclubs or dayclubs (pool parties), this seems to be the extent of our creativity:
“Hey, let’s rent that space over there and turn it into a club.”
Again, I’m not trying to be a negative dick, it’s just that these things have been done before. Ad-nauseum. These projects aren’t new, they aren’t fresh, they aren’t terribly interesting, and I’m just not sure why we are so insistent upon them. At this point, we have enough clubs to last us until the end of the millenium without ever having to open another one.
While we are saturated with clubs, in this day and age, do you know what Las Vegas is lacking?
Great gambling.
It doesn’t even feel like gambling is on the radar of Las Vegas entrepreneurs anymore. The whole thing seems to be an afterthought. As evidence, I present to you the current “Camp Vegas” campaign which is being shopped heavily by the LVCVA. In particular, I would like to offer this 90 second video for your consideration:
Please watch the entire thing, and note exactly how many times you see someone gambling in the entire video.
What exactly is this place that they are shopping to the world? It’s certainly not the Las Vegas I became enamored with 10+ years ago. I’m becoming alienated from my own town. It’s kind of depressing.
I don’t think the ads are appealing to our core demographic. The promos are starting to look like Miami Beach or an MTV Beach House. I understand that lots of places have casinos now, but do you know what else every city in the USA has?
Nightclubs.
Not only does every town have clubs, but pools are not all that original either. Pool parties on top of the Standard and W Hotels in Los Angeles are very popular with D’bags right now, and they are in a much larger city and thus more convenient. With this pool party obsession, we are trying to compete in an even more saturated market than gambling. Simply put, we don’t need more pool parties.
What we do need is legalized prostitution. If we cannot legalize drugs, we need to knock down their enforcement to, at most, $15 fines to satisfy the moos in Summerlin and the Mormons in Henderson, while making them de-facto legal.
We need to have full-nude, full-touch, strip clubs, and we need to combine all of these elements on-property.
The pool stuff is simply NOT “Sin City”. It’s a goddamn hole full of water with a DJ.
Sure, the douchebag places should be a component of the Vegas experience, but at this point, it is all we are selling. It comprises 100% of our marketing.
Douchebags are “in” right now, but everything was “in” at some point in time, at which point it quickly went “out”. We’re building our town around a fad, at the expense of our core product; a product that when managed correctly, has stood the test of time regardless of which way the wind was blowing.
Gambling has been around since the days of the Egyptian pyramids. Douchebags have been around since the late 1990’s. Well, I suppose they have always been around, but they’ve just now gotten popular. Like all fads, D’bags too, will pass, and if we don’t have a strong core product in place when it does, we’re pretty much doomed.
Las Vegas is suffering through a severe crisis right now. Contrary to popular belief, it is not just a financial crisis; it is an identity crisis the likes of which I don’t think we’ve ever seen. In my opinion, the current “club” fixation is going to be far more damaging to our brand than was the “family friendly” trial a decade ago which, despite outcries to the contrary, really wasn’t all that bad. Las Vegas flourished during our attempt at providing family fun. Even during Vegas’s “Disneyland” fixation, we still had good gaming odds, good comps, and good casino service. This is what allowed us to thrive even though not everyone was thrilled with the kid-friendliness.
The current craze, however, is different. Las Vegas appears to want to completely rid itself of its association with gambling altogether, and this is something that may turn a short dollar, but which will not work in the long run.
Las Vegas cannot keep “re-inventing itself” through the alienation of its primary product, and unless our developers quit trying to jump on the “club” bandwagon like every other unoriginal poser in this town, and look toward building better casinos, our comeback will never happen.
Written by Disco Stu on May 21, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Ask Blueboar. He’s our Neonopolis liaison. Still, a windowless building lends itself to gambling more readily than another one-syllable club.
Written by Bill on May 21, 2010 at 8:44 pm
EXACTLY
I can gamble here at home everyday. The reason I go to Vegas is for the better machine odds.
All I hear now is how Vegas VP is tightening up. (So I’m guessing the slots are also).
So why not stay home and save the travel costs.
You know it costs around $1000 to $1200 to go to vegas for a few days, so why not save that and gamble that thousand+ here at home and use my own bed which I don’t have to be comped for or spend even more gambling money for.
VEGAS NEEDS TO FIX THIS.
Written by Trevelbond on May 21, 2010 at 9:22 pm
All of the promotions I see for Las Vegas on YouTube or TV either don’t mention gambling or barely touch upon it. It’s as if the duopoly that runs Vegas is ashamed to be in that business.
I hate the douchebag pool party scene. I hate nightclubs. You’re absolutely right, I have access to all that shit at home. I never partake.
I come to Vegas to gamble and see a few shows. To me, that is what Las Vegas is about.
Your article on the Tropicana a few days ago and this one leave me a bit concerned about the future of Las Vegas. Nobody is willing to try anything different, especially on the strip. Whenever anything new opens in a strip property it is invariably some shitty ultra lounge or beach club. Not to mention MGM’s mission to homogenize every casino they own into a uniform modern look. It’s boring.
I’ll stop babbling. I’m just really dissatisfied with many of the changes I’ve seen the last few years.
Written by Puff N Stuff on May 21, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Funny I had to get my Sheriff’s card there in 1995 or 1996 to get my first job working at the Aladdin buffet. Probably one of the most depressing buildings I’ve ever seen. Probably why I love it
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on May 21, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Enjoyed the article.
Just wanted to add something you might find interesting.
I looked at the picture of 601 Fremont Street and recognized it.
When I first moved to Las Vegas in 2002, I had to go there to conduct some business. It was operated by the city. And it was where you went to get records checks done, background checks and fingerprints done. Like when you get hired somewhere and they required this be done before you started working. Especially casino workers, bartenders, waitresses and security guards.
I remember it well because I had to keep feeding quarters into a parking meter and nudge my way past homeless and various forms of douchebaggy forms of life to walk back and forth from there to my car. And across the street, at that time, was a low end casino. I was laughing because the security guards for that casino spent more time outside than they did inside and appeared to be totally running out of patience. They were moving the lowlifes around and making sure they didn’t hang out in front of their casino, bad for business shit I guess. But, it was all like herding cats. When the security guards did their thing and then went back inside, the people they chased off came right back. It was like a constant procession…move ‘em out…then they leave…and BAM! They’re right back there.
Anyways, the city moved out of there and relocated this service somewhere west of I-15 on the other side of the valley.
I guess the city still owns it and it is just sitting there not doing anything, so I guess they finally leased it out rather than just sit there and collect dust.
Just thought you might find that interesting.
Written by Jake on May 21, 2010 at 10:50 pm
If you can sell a bottle of vodka for $300 to some d’bag and call it “bottle service” who can blame these companies for continuing to do that?
Vegas has been on a trend for years of trying to be a nightclub that has some carnival games (gambling) mixed in.
Written by Jake on May 21, 2010 at 10:53 pm
If hotels/casinos etc can get away with selling a bottle of vodka to a d’bag for $300 and calling it bottle service, who can blame them for continuing to do so?
Las Vegas has been on a trend for years of trying to be a nightclub that has some carnival games (gambling) mixed in.
The selling point is a nightclub/party not a gambling destination.
Written by Rex on May 21, 2010 at 10:59 pm
I guess the city still owns it and it is just sitting there not doing anything, so I guess they finally leased it out rather than just sit there and collect dust.
Just thought you might find that interesting.
Thanks, it is interesting to know the history of the building.
I’ve never been inside of it before.
To be honest, even though I’ve passed it hundreds of times, I’ve never paid any attention to it until today. I’ve never had any business there, and to me, it was just a generic building on a generic city corner.
BTW, It’s directly across from the El Cortez (who’s guards still spend most of their time outside).
Written by chance on May 21, 2010 at 11:45 pm
rex is right.
benny binion had it right long ago.
give the customer an honest gamble/game and you will make money.
make it a throwback to the ratback days, good lounge shows, good odds, decent food at a decent price and i’ll make it my home away from home.
Written by Gary on May 22, 2010 at 12:11 am
I always thought of myself as right in the middle of the Las Vegas target market. Middle age, visit a few times a year, like to gamble and see a few shows. Fortunately, my experience hasn’t been anything like that commercial, but if I went down to the pool after a night of gambling and saw that crowded mess, I would stay home. Maybe they have an old guy version of the commercial that shows people eating, drinking and gambling.
Camp Vegas is kind of lame. It reminds me of that Disney movie that my kids used to watch. Camp Rock. Guess you gotta hook em young.
Written by blueboar on May 22, 2010 at 1:16 am
Thanks for the photos. I’ve walked by that place more than a few times myself and never noticed it.
Rex, I agree with your basic premise, and your town certainly doesn’t need any more “ultralounges”. But I think it’s kind of exciting that somebody’s going to try to do something with that building.
Downtown’s sorta coming back, and they’re doing it one building at a time. The Griffin, the refurbished Gold Spike, the places on 3rd Street, the money they’ve put into the El Co, etc Entrepreneurs are putting some money into reasonable projects and they seem to be paying off. I haven’t seen any numbers, but I’d guess even the Nugget’s new Rush Tower has worked out well for them.
Contrast that to that CityCenter monstrosity or even that Neonopolis monstrosity.
I like what’s been happening in the Fremont East district. And whomever came up with the idea of putting up the old neon is a genius. A hell of a lot smarter genius then the people who do those Camp Vegas advertising campaigns.
Yeah, a lot of tourists still seem scared to walk out from under the canopy, but more developments like this are likely to cause more people to do so and can only benefit the rest of the area.
Having said all of that though, I also wonder what the hell happened to the good gambling and fair deals that kept people coming back for decades?
In fact, it’s a bit ironic that they’re talking about opening a night club and ultra lounge right across the street from one of the last bastions of old school good gambling in town.
Written by mike_ch on May 22, 2010 at 1:38 am
You don’t really want less clubs, you just want them to stop with the illusion of sanitized sin and go foe the full dirty.
You know what that will bring? Douchebags.
All kinds of people gamble. Young, old, men, women, conservative, progressive, and so on.
You know who needs to pay for sex? Snags.
You’re actually making Vegas douchier because your plans cater to young men and nothing else.
Written by mike_ch on May 22, 2010 at 1:41 am
DArgh! I meant to write “dbags” and wrote snags!
I’m not even using an iThing, so I can’t blame the man.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on May 22, 2010 at 2:57 am
Okay, thanks, Rex. El Cortez. I forgot the name of that place.
I do remember I felt sorry for them overworked security guards though. They were busier than cats trying to cover their shit on a marble floor…chasing people away from the front of their joint..but getting nowhere fast.
Sounds like they’re still doing that.
Written by tully on May 22, 2010 at 3:00 am
What caught my eye was the plan to put condos on the top floor. Are they serious? LV doesn’t need any more condos—not DT, on the Strip, or anywhere else. There is a glut of condos, many of which are functioning as rental apartment buildings.
Building more at this point in time seems like a really bad idea.
Written by RG on May 22, 2010 at 7:11 am
Condos on the top floor…of a building that has no windows. Genius! Btw-as previously stated anybody who worked in a casino from 19??-200? Had to walk in that building to get finger printed for a sheriffs card. So ten of thousands of residents past and present despise that building due to having to wait there all day at one time back when that really was da hood
Written by jimorl57 on May 22, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Well, I guess I see this whole story differently. A club? Who is going to go to a club, even further away from the canopy than EC? Really, condos? If the average Joe sees the folly of all this, you can be sure the money men do too. I think it’s just a tax write off sort of thing, worked out with the City. The City needed to justify the renting out of the building, touting “New Business”, and the money guys are just saying what they want to hear. And I’m sure that if you looked into the deal further, they got a sweet deal on the lease, and tax concesion too. That building will remain empty, or at most, sub-leased for storage. I would hope that there would be some type of developement in the area, but not in this case.
Written by DoubleDownNow! on May 22, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Look, the gamblers like me are gonna come to Vegas anyway, always have always will. What they’re tryin’ to do is attract guys that normally wouldn’t come, especially rich guys that want to party with young attractive girls that normally wouldn’t consider Vegas. It works for the Palms, why not for all of Vegas?
Written by tully on May 22, 2010 at 3:36 pm
If DT tries to compete with the Strip on the Strip’s terms, it will fail. Same if it tries to compete with HR/Palms. It will succeed as it figures out its niche, and caters to that.
And what is DT’s niche? The gamblers looking for better games; the young partiers who dislike the club scene, and much prefer places like the bars on FSE; the locals who prefer the funkier DT to suburban offerings; visitors looking for a bit more bang for their buck. For the past couple of years, the people promoting FSE have shown strong signs of starting to “get it” and have done a far better job promoting their area than LVCVA has done promoting the Strip. And the properties themselves have stepped up to the plate with renovations and improvements. At this point, only the Plaza has rooms that would qualify as “flea bag.” Even the old Gold Spike now offers a decent place to stay—and a pool.
But this last idea just seems shaky. I honestly think Terry Caudill would be better off taking his bucks and renovating the Binions hotel, and the rooftop pool. That pool has some great views, and could be turned into something very appealing. I know the hotel needs a lot of work, but still think that would be a better investment than this latest idea.
Written by tunadz on May 25, 2010 at 5:37 am
The LVCVA can’t find the nose on their face, their next famous tag-line is obviously, “Vegas is for Douchebags”. Print that on a cheap cotton t-shirt and sign me up for an XL; I’ll be explaining it to the Fremont riff-raff next month.
Written by ClownHo on May 25, 2010 at 8:25 am
reading this post is like reading the story of my life…OK, that’s a bit of a stretch.
when i was 26 i took my first trip to LV. my buddy and i stayed at MGM, got a good rate on a three-night weekend, enjoyed our time out and about and weren’t being fleeced at every turn up and down the strip. it helped that half-pound hot dogs were 99 cents at the boardwalk.
i’d heard about a few clubs around vegas, such as the beach. i went there once or twice. it was a dance place that wasn’t ridiculously priced. i didn’t feel like a sucker for the time i spent there one night with a few friends on a subsequent trip.
it was only logical that the casinos started working harder to get a piece of that action. somehow they convinced young morons that they wanted to overpay for anything and everything associated with a club, and thus the ultralounge was born.
perhaps the ultralounge is just a bi-product of the upscale positioning of every property on the strip.
now i’m an old man, 39 years old. i was raised catholic, so even when i was younger and in better shape than i am today, i was never the chiseled picture of superficiality that you see in “camp vegas” promos. seeing a promo like that makes me think that there’s no place for me in vegas.
years ago i started to realize that downtown was more my style. i was young and attracted to the allure of the strip. by my mid-30s the strip i knew was gone, and since i’m not getting rich in my old age, i have been rapidly priced off the strip.
in january 2007 i stayed two nights at greek isles. during a geocaching adventure i discovered the old beach club, now closed. of course it was, given its off-strip location. what a shame.
i like to do a lot of things besides gamble when i’m in vegas, sadly the strip is figuring less and less into that list.
maybe it’s OK to have an ultralounge in the downtown district, if it caters to the sensibilities of the downtown gambler.
live long and prosper, downtown, i’m too young to start vacationing in laughlin.