Old School Vegas

While visiting Las Vegas, not many ever think of the city beyond the Las Vegas strip. Not many out of towners know that if you venture north of the Vegas Strip you will find Fremont Street, a street that houses some of the older casinos in Las Vegas. The New Frontier, The Plaza, The Golden Nugget, Glitter Gultch and The Fitzgerald to name a few.

Fremont street has been built into The "Fremont Experience." They have built a ceiling overhead the casinos and in the evenings they have a light shows and live entertainment...The light show is quite the spectacle for those who are easily distracted by flashing lights.

Fremont Street is history with a pinch of Carny folk flavor thrown in the mix. I often tell my husband that one of these night I want to go down to Fremont sporting a wifebeater tank top and a beer koozie to blend in with everyone else.

The many Kiosks fascinate me. In one corner you have the t-shirt spray painting booth, and in another corner you can get your picture taken with a Chip-n-dale. I actually saw a middle age woman one day getting her picture taken with a chip-n-dale, minus her four top teeth. Im sure at one point this woman pinched the "stud-muffin's" buttocks (I just got the feeling she was into that). This is also probably not the job that poor boy had in mind when (as I imagine) he left his small town home in Nebraska to make it big in Las Vegas.

Oh, before I forget, they even have the deal where someone rides a motorcycle around in a circular cage. Such a death defying act...total sweetness.

I'd have to say one of my favorite establishments on Fremont is Mermaid's Casino. When first walking in, there had been an illusion that Mermaid's was a pretty big casino. But then to my surprise, i realized that in actuality they had just lined the place with mirrors to make it seem big. It is really a very small room jam packed with slot machines...it may even be enough to give someone with claustrophobia a heart attack. (they might want to look into that.)

Anyway, My husband and I went to Mermaid's Casino for one reason and one reason only, the Fried Oreos and Fried Twinkies! ...this classy establishment has a Nathan's hot dog stand in the heart of the casino that serves up the tastiest fried treats you could ever imagine. Let me just tell you, if you have never had fried oreos or fried twinkies, you MUST! I was a bit scared at first, but, as my husband states, "Any food can be even more delicious when fried". He was absolutely correct. A casino can not get any classier or better than that.

For all of those who live by the cliche, "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," there are still some very nice strip clubs for you to enjoy...The Glitter Gultch being one of the most popular on Fremont.

I will have to admit to my surprise, some of the Casino's on Fremont are actually pretty nice, The Golden Nugget surprised me a great deal with the fact that it was actually really pretty on the inside, and had what seemed like an awesome pool. There is also a Jilians, movie theater and some pretty good bar/restaurants there as well.

And, according to Wikipedia, there is some interesting film and media history connected to Fremont Street:

The 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever featured a chase scene in which James Bond, running from Las Vegas police, side-rolls a car through an alley exiting onto Fremont Street.

The 1987 music video for the song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2 was filmed on Fremont Street and featured the band members wandering around, while The Edge played an acoustic guitar.

1989 Very Bad Things featured Fremont Street in the movie.

1992's Honey, I Blew Up the Kid prominently featured Fremont Street in the movie.

In 1994, Glitter Gulch was featured prominently in the TV Miniseries The Stand.

The 1997 comedy Vegas Vacation includes a few scenes on Fremont Street.

In the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Steve the Pirate is seen along the Plaza near the Fremont Street Experience.

In a 2005 release, Panic! at the Disco released a song about cheap motels on Fremont Street called Build God, Then We'll Talk.

The 2007 released movie Next, has Nicholas Cage's character entering the Golden Nugget from the Fremont Street Experience.

Ice Cube's music video for Chrome and Paint took place on Fremont Street, with Ice Cube in a lowrider.

In the video game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Logan Keller, and his teammates Jung, and Michael infiltrate Fremont Street to find a news van, which they find by going through the maintenance tunnels under the Stocco Casino.

Heavily referenced in the Tom Waits song 'Mr. Siegal'.

Featured at the beginning of the TV Series - CSI season 7 finale episode 24.

Featured in the opening credits of the TV series Vega$.

So, the next time any of you want to get a different perspective of Las Vegas, you should really venture down to Fremont Street. It wont be as glamorous as the Strip, but it has a lot of flavor, and may give you a lot of fun stories to take home.