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Western: The dream is officially dead folks.....

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by Louton25, Mar 21, 2013.

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  1. Louton25

    Louton25 Tourist

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  2. LucyR.

    LucyR. VIP Whale

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    I know what you mean

    I am so sorry that the Bill's Saloon got closed down. No new work is being done
    on it. It is like a ghost of past memories. I loved the spacious rooms with lots of lights and Victorian style furniture.

    Las Vegas is radically changing into an Entertainment City for party people.
    The old western look will be gone soon.
     
  3. tatterdema

    tatterdema VIP Whale

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  4. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    Let's all hoist a can of cheap beer and toast to the toothless downtrodden gamblers of the past. May they all receive blackjacks and free drinks wherever they are.
     
  5. Turtleman

    Turtleman VIP Whale

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    I'll (semi proudly) admit that I never got closer to the Western than El Cortez, though I hate to see a true scum dump (from everything I've read and heard) go away. Then again, from what I've seen from Tamaras, maybe whatever they do will be even scummier than before!
     
  6. Drambler

    Drambler High-Roller

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    You missed a real gem. Lots of characters in that place. Cheap gambling, wackos and cans of beer. It was a lot of fun.
     
  7. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    to each his/her own. some people wouldn't set foot in the place, while others frequented the place. I visited the place once and a while but never really took a liking to the place, didn't like some of the characters hanging out there.

    As for it's future, you never know, they may reopen the place one day. Too expensive to tear it down unless they were going to do something to it so I would guess it would remain standing until they decide what to do with it. I passed by the place last week and it was completely boarded up to prevent vagrants from accessing. The one good thing about the place is that it has been designated as a casino so another casino can open up there without a lot of paperwork to convert.

    I think a lot of downtown buildings are just standing and waiting for developers to decide what to do with them (and the market to get better so they can get cash inflows). For now we just get to look at the old downtown vegas buildings. Looking past the western down fremont street there are lots buildings abandoned for decades, the western will just be another shell until a developer decides to do something about it.
     
  8. tatterdema

    tatterdema VIP Whale

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    This only applies if they have gambling on the premises for at least one shift (8 hours), once every 2 years. Unless they open a trailer station style casino, by January, they are going to miss out on that. Lady Luck got around it by keeping machines continuously going across the street.

    Here is a good story on the subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/us/09casino.html?_r=0
     
  9. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    Sorry folks, no love lost here. I went in the place once, and I felt like I was gambling in a run down grochery store. Between the stank, cigarette burns, and the eclectic clientelle I felt really dirty being in the place.

    Im all for nostalgia but at least spray a can of air freshener, mop or vaccum the floors, clean the sh@tter, and put a fresh coat of lacquer over the 15 layers of chipped old paint.
     
  10. aliasyoshi

    aliasyoshi Low-Roller

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    I'll drink to that! :beer:
     
  11. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    I don't think it's a given that it will be torn down but I doubt it's future will be as a casino. They will probably convert it into housing of some sort.
     
  12. acoluzzi

    acoluzzi Low-Roller

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    The dream is officially dead folks.....

    I will certainly miss it and remember the few visits I made fondly.
     
  13. Nevada Kid

    Nevada Kid VIP Whale

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  14. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

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    Las Vegas on $19 a Day

    The Western is a short step up from the many rent-by-the-hour operations in town, but an excellent option for the down-and-out gambler or low-roller. They walked in the casino's back door and were greeted by a dusty gray Christmas Tree with a string of sad, blinking lights, and a few people just barely still standing. The Western's casino is generally dirty and a bit scary in that the gamblers here do not fit well into polite society, and have a lot of animosity because of it. Especially toward a couple of college looking guys that just may be goofing at their expense. The desk clerk sifted through the reservations file to find which of the two in there was Matt's and Stinky's. They had to leave a $1 deposit for each key, and were told they'd lose the money if they didn't check out by noon the next day.

    The room was small, dank, and dirty. Not so bad that the boys thought they'd have their throats slit during the night; more like someone would come in and give them really bad charlie horses. The room contained a dresser, two narrow, soft beds, and a very small bathroom with a shower head that came to just above the navel. The walls were whitewashed cinderblock and the carpet was threadbare and gray.
     
  15. IxAccDnf

    IxAccDnf VIP Whale

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    I loved the Western.
    I've played there and stayed there.
    Never did eat there :cry:
     
  16. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    I truly hope Downtown does not follow the "renewal" model of the strip. Downtown is the last consistent link to the glory days of Vegas.....
     
    Annual CCA (Casino Collectibles Association) Show at South Point
    Long Overdue Stay At The Golden Nugget
  17. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Time passes and nothing lasts forever. It's something we all have to come to terms with through our lives. People die. Places close. Trends change. But as one thing falls off the radar, another new thing appears. Some of the new things are pretty great too.

    I liked what someone said in one of these threads about how Stardust was the expensive place in LV at one point.

    It's all about balance. Where there's a market, someone will find a way to fill it. :)
     
  18. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    They will "renew" downtown and even chase the younger set. But I think it's clear they know that the ticket to success is to offer value. The strip operators could probably learn a few tricks from downtown on reinventing themselves without running up prices.
     
  19. split10's?

    split10's? Low-Roller

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    i ate there, at the counter. Nothing memorable other than the cup of plastic chocolate pudding that came with the dinner 'special'.
    Never did order a can of beer, those 40oz to too good of a deal to pass up. Drank cans of Natural Light next door at Atomic Liquors.
     
  20. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

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    I'm looking forward to visiting the newly opened Atomic Liquors on my next trip, but it's gonna be sad walking past the Western again, as I did last trip.

    When I lived in Las Vegas, me and a buddy of mine had a Sunday tradition of getting up early, around 5am, and heading to the Western for dollar blackjack and Irish coffee, where our favorite cocktail server Shirley would tell us the stories of the night before.

    I'll admit, sometimes I was a part of those stories, but there was just something special about sitting at that BJ table right in front of the casino with the doors wide open, street smelling of hobo nation, and taking in the sites of east Fremont. I'll always remember this place for the comp I received from the pit boss after playing for several hours at a $2 BJ table. I asked for a plate of bacon, and he wrote it up. "plate of bacon".
     
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