Golden Gate

The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, at the base of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, proudly declares that it was established in 1906 and is the oldest extant Las Vegas landmark hotel. It also introduced the shrimp cocktail into the Las Vegas tradition, and, after having served 25 million of them so far, insists that it is the best in town. It probably is. In 1955 a group from San Francisco bought the property and changed its name to Golden Gate. The hotel is small, with just 106 rooms.

The casino is also small, but large enough for almost 500 slots, mainly of the old-fashioned variety, and table games. Craps (usually $5 bet, 5x odds), roulette, Caribbean stud, Let it Ride, and of course, blackjack, are available, including a shoe game and single- and double-deck varieties. The "sports book" is a corner in the casino with room for 10 people, a handful of small televisions and Leroy's lines.

The Golden Gate offers two restaurants serving a wide variety of delicious food at excellent prices. The Bay City Diner will serve a steak or any one of a large number of menu items for dinner, lunch or breakfast. The San Francisco Shrimp Bar & Deli offers sandwiches and snacks, as well as a 99-cent shrimp cocktail.

A baby grand piano sits in the center of the casino. Live pianists play from noon to mid-night daily. The Freemont Street Experience starts right out the front door from the hotel.