Fremont Street became the first paved street in Las Vegas back in 1925.  The first traffic light came along in 1932.  The first

high-rise came in 1956 with the Fremont Hotel.  Over the years, with neon signs multiplying like rabbits, the west end of Fremont Street became known as “Glitter Gulch.”  The Horseshoe became the first casino to have carpet.  And the Golden Nugget, where we stay, was the first structure designed from the ground up to be a casino.
 
But for a couple of decades, the downtown area became a forgotten, down-trodden, and somewhat depressing area of Vegas.  The Fremont Street Experience was conceived in the 1990s to draw more people to the downtown area.  For years, they were losing customers to the more glitzy and glamorous Strip.  The FSE is a cooperative venture, owned by ten downtown hotels and casinos. 
 
The centerpiece is an “urban theater” that covers five formerly downtrodden blocks into a state of the art, light show filled canopy.  This $70 million investment spurred revenue growth that outpaced the  mega resorts out on the Strip.  It was Steve Wynn who got the FSE off the ground in 1992. 
 
The canopy runs along Fremont Street from Main Street to Fourth Street.  The canopy is held up by sixteen columns, each weighing 26,000 pounds.  It is 90 feet high at the peak.  It covers four blocks, roughly 1500 feet. To imagine the size, one fiftieth of the total canopy equals the size of the world’s largest electric sign.  More than 12 million LED lamps illuminate the canopy.  Inside the canopy are 220 speakers powered by 550,000 watts of amplification.
 
The theme based light and sound shows begin at dusk, on the hour.  Casino lights are turned down (which is unheard of in Vegas), as the crowd gathers on the Fremont Street Mall.  This mall was closed to traffic in 1994.  Perhaps some of the scenes from Nick Cage’s Con Air will bring back memories that had our hero fighting the bad guys on a fire truck, presumably racing down Fremont Street.  The crowds gather as the hour approaches. 
 

Having been here numerous times does not stop us from watching the nightly shows.  The streets are filled with people, drinking their comped beers, and polluting the air with cigarette smoke.  Despite it all, the atmosphere is actually quite enjoyable.  Our group tends to remain at the Fremont for evening gambling, except for my brother, who heads to the Nugget for poker.  Rarely do we drive out to the Strip in the evening.

 

While the real gamblers in our group stay at the Fremont in deeply discounted or free rooms, we stay at the Golden Nugget across the street.  It seems a little more civilized, except for the flood of rodeo people this time of year.  Between the big trucks and the ten gallon hats, the hotel gets quite crowded.  Perhaps we will wait for a stampede, which usually occurs Monday when the rodeo has ended.

About 3 decades have passed since I had an airline flight that tried to land, then ABORTED!!!  It happened when we tried to land in Vegas Saturday.  We came within a few dozen feet of landing, then took off.  We landed from the east, but the first pass was from the south.  It was very windy, and I suspect they saw our place bouncing around as we tried to land.  It was much smoother from the east.  They blamed it on a crowded runway, but I know better.

 

Taking the gambling lead at the Day 1 mark is my brother, with a 7 out of 8 on the Keno machine in Primm.  I think I am tied for last right now, with no prospects of changing my luck.  Perhaps my donations last night to the street artists will transform into some good gambling karma for me?

 

Well, it is now time for Loco Moco, an Hawaiian staple that is served with great care over at the Fremont.  Perhaps I can use a slot machine on the way as my personal ATM. so that I can buy breakfast for our group?