Downtown Las Vegas, centered around Fremont Street, is the historic alternative to the Las Vegas Strip. It’s where it all began, when it comes to gambling, booze and broads… and spontaneous brides…
When Scott and I traveled to Las Vegas to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, we already knew we’d be headed to downtown Las Vegas for a renewal of vows ceremony at the Graceland Wedding Chapel with a Las Vegas Elvis impersonator. But it was Scott’s brother, Stephen Conklin, who lives in Las Vegas, who suggested we also experience the historic downtown at night. Can’t deny the suggestion of a local! So on Anniversary Eve, he whisked us away from The Strip for a fun night out around Fremont Street.
We started with dinner at Oscar’s Steakhouse in the Plaza Hotel. The restaurant, owned by former mayor Oscar Goodman, sports the slogan “Beef, Booze and Broads” and features matching old-timey atmosphere, with charismatic waiters, huge portions and a view of glitzy and sparkly Fremont Street.
The insider stories of the staff at Oscar’s were only matched by our own local guide, Stephen, who seemed to know the thrilling history of every place and supplied us with plenty of inspiring gambler stories (“…he used his last dollar and won a million dollars on a slot machine…”). Thank you so much, Stephen!
We gave ourselves the full Fremont Street Experience, with the overhead light show, live cover band, cocktails from Binion’s and finally ducking into several of the classic casinos. We did however skip the zip line and the slide through the shark tank. Instead, I won a $1000 in a $2 spin on a Wheel of Fortune slot machine inside the Golden Nugget!
We closed out the night at the more modern casino The D, where the female card dealers alternate between dealing cards and dancing on pedestals – and where the male bartenders entertain with their flair bartending skills. A special thanks to Eddie Razo for making the most entertaining Cosmo I’ve ever had – and letting me film the process.
Actually, we probably closed out the night at a bar or blackjack table in the Cosmopolitan Hotel back on the Strip. But who can really remember? All I know is that we had a ridiculous amount of fun that night and still made it to our renewal wedding at Graceland Chapel the next day on time… (In the video, this is in reverse order to give it a nicer visual flow from day to night. Creative license and all.)
Next week, I plan to share a 1-minute video about the Las Vegas Strip. If you want to see more right now, please check out last week’s video: Las Vegas Sunset (Nevada) – In Another Minute (Week 296)
And hopefully in the near future, I can return to downtown Las Vegas. Because there’s still so much I haven’t seen and captured…
The featured song is “Boogie Woogie Bed” by Jason Shaw of Audinautix.com. He has made this and many other instrumental songs available via a CC BY 3.0 license. Thank you, Jason!
Last but not least, a very special thanks to “Elvis” and Abe and everyone at the Graceland Wedding Chapel. Definitely, an unforgettable and totally American experience. After all the options, I’m so glad we chose this as the way to honor twenty years of marriage and all the decades to come – with laughter, singing, dancing and lots of kissing!
