In Las Vegas, the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino officially re-opened on Friday following a refurbishment that reportedly saw the 111-year-old venue nearly double the size of its casino floor and expand its outdoor bar area.
According to a report from the Associated Press news service, the downtown property also premiered a new facade that drew its inspiration from the jazz music of the 1920s while its Fremont Street entrance now comes complete with 500-pound golden velvet drapes.
The Associated Press reported that the casino inside the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino was additionally upgraded to offer a selection of 100 slots while visitors may moreover enjoy the sites and sounds coming from a 24-foot and 360-degree tower of televisions encasing a chandelier.
“We maintained some of the great historical themes but we’ve added a number of more modern amenities,” Derek Stevens, Chief Executive Officer for the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, reportedly told the news service.
The Associated Press reported that the property was last expanded in 2012 via the addition of a new lobby and luxury five-story hotel tower while this latest refurbishment forms part of a sequence of projects that are expected to help revitalize the downtown area of Nevada’s largest city.
Across the street from the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, Stevens is reportedly planning a new hotel and casino project for the site of the recently-shuttered Las Vegas Club and Mermaids while the area’s Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino recently won permission to construct a hotel tower that is set to almost double the property’s existing room tally.
Patrick Hughes, President for the five-block Fremont Street Experience city-center entertainments district, reportedly told the Associated Press that 53% of visitors to Las Vegas in 2016 stopped in downtown. He is purportedly planning to renovate his venue’s existing light show and explained that many tourists like the downtown area because of its access to casinos, pedestrian-friendly lay-out and attractions such as the Neon Museum and the Mob Museum.
“We only have 5% of the city’s hotel rooms, which means a trip downtown is a major part of their trip to Las Vegas,” Hughes reportedly told the news service. “They come to Las Vegas because downtown is part of that experience; not competing with the Strip but we are a destination within a destination.”