Las Vegas Club and Mermaid Set to Reopen, But Only for Eight Hours

Posted on: June 8, 2017, 05:00h. 

Last updated on: June 8, 2017, 05:24h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The shuttered Las Vegas Club and Mermaid casinos located on the Fremont Street Experience are scheduled to reopen later this month, albeit only for eight hours each.

Las Vegas Club Mermaid Derek Stevens
Vegas Vickie is coming down from her perch to make way for renovation at the Las Vegas Club. Her “married” husband, Vegas Vic, looks on across Fremont Street. (Image: David Guzman/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Those in search of nostalgia in Downtown Las Vegas can visit the gaming floors and test their luck on temporary slot machines placed in the buildings. The Las Vegas Club will have the first shift on June 27, with Mermaid then taking the terminals the following day.

It’s all part of keeping the gaming licenses active at the two properties. The Nevada Gaming Control Board mandates that casinos house gambling activities for at least eight hours every two years, otherwise the permit expires and is revoked.

Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of the D Las Vegas on Fremont Street, acquired the Las Vegas Club in 2015, and Mermaid in 2016, and closed their operations soon after. Before the two casinos can temporarily open, the Las Vegas City Council and Nevada Gaming Commission must sign off on the plans, and both agencies are expected to do so.

Future Unknown

Fremont and the Downtown Las Vegas area is outpacing the rest of Sin City in terms of revenue growth.

Over the last 12 months, total gaming win statewide is up almost three percent. The Strip is up two percent.

But in Downtown Las Vegas, gaming income is soaring more than 10 percent. The blue-collar area is attracting new guests through creative innovations, such as eSports lounges and arenas, as well as Fremont mainstays like cheap food and drinks, and attractions such as the SlotZilla Zip Line and LED canopy display.    

Dating back to the 1930s, the Las Vegas Club is known for having been the first property to install a neon sign in Sin City.

Vegas Vickie Moving

With more money than ever flowing into the area, the Stevens brothers are in the process of deciding what to do with the prime real estate. The D sits on the southeastern end of the Fremont canopy, while Las Vegas Club and Mermaid reside on the northwestern end.

Derek Stevens hasn’t made public the plans for the revitalization of the western end of the Fremont Street Experience, but did reveal this week that that the iconic cowgirl Vegas Vickie is coming down. On June 12, the beloved character sign that overlooks the former home of the Glitter Gulch gentleman’s club is being removed to make way for construction on the Las Vegas Club.

Stevens said in a press release that he’s not sure what her fate will be, saying he is searching for “the best home possible.” One potential destination is the Neon Museum located just a few blocks north of Fremont Street.

Vegas Vickie has been in her position since the early 1980s, and “married” Vegas Vic, her neighboring neon sign cowboy, in 1994.