Head Honcho of Fremont Street Experience Steps Down to Be President of Strat
Cliff Atkinson is on the move again.
Atkinson is stepping down as president and CEO of Fremont Street Experience (FSE) and will become president of The Strat effective Nov. 9, 2026. He started the Fremont Street Experience gig on Feb. 17, 2026.
We contacted our downtown sources to try and unearth any drama around Atkinson’s move after just eight months and 20 days at the helm of FSE, but no dice. You’ll appreciate that pun more once we mansplain it.
First bit of mansplaining: Fremont Street Experience is the organization responsible for operating and marketing one of the most popular tourist attractions in Las Vegas. They also operate the SlotZilla zipline. And a parking lot. Don’t laugh, it makes a lot of money.
Anyway, given Atkinson’s somewhat bumpy history as a Las Vegas casino executive, we had reason to suspect he’d stepped on a mine of some sort at FSE leading to his departure.
Atkinson famously was fired from Fontainebleau before it even opened. In Jan. 2023, Fontainebleau announced a new President & CEO despite already having one, wait for it, Cliff Atkinson. An award-winning blogger described that situation thusly, “That was some unmitigated, classless dipshittery right there, all due respect to dips and shits.” Granted, it’s been a minute since we won any awards, but look, some Las Vegas shows still tout their “Best of Las Vegas Award” from 1978, so just play along.
Then Atkinson found his way to Virgin. What could possibly go wrong, you astutely ask? Well, he spent months dealing with the shitshow that was the resort’s union negotiations. As thanks for all his hard work, he was let go.
When we heard Atkinson got the leadership role at Fremont Street Experience, we thought it was a perfect fit. It may have been, but then Strat made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Everyone we’ve spoken to confirms Strat’s offer was simply irresistible. FSE liked him so much, they even countered, but being the president of a Strip casino (yes, Strat is spiritually part of The Strip) is a rare opportunity (especially if you don’t want to get sucked into the Caesars/MGM vortex) and so Atkinson was, as our fellow youths say, poached.
Gratuitous throwback music video below.
Beyond his WTF-filled experiences at Fontainebleau and Virgin, Atkinson was a senior vice president at MGM Resorts International, helping establish the company’s corporate hotel division and providing guidance for the openings of MGM National Harbor and MGM Springfield.
He also served as general manager of Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco, then Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, where he helped the luxury hotel earn Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond honors.
In other words, Atkinson has not only been around the block but also put through the wringer, raked over the coals, given the bum’s rush and several other old-timey expressions.
Yes, Atkinson has experience, but the part they don’t put in news releases is just how likable the guy is. We have tried endlessly to get people to share any dirt about him, but we have never found anyone who doesn’t love him. (Culinary doesn’t count. Specifically or generally.)
Looking at his recent career choices, Atkinson loves a challenge. Virgin and Fontainebleau are both struggling and have been since they opened. (In the case of Virgin, reopened. It used to be Hard Rock.)
At Strat, Atkinson will oversee a 2,427-room hotel, an 80,000-square-foot casino and the resort’s iconic 1,149-foot tower. Yes, the tower isn’t just a great photo op, there are thrill rides on top. We’re pretty sure they generate as much money as Strat’s casino.
Strat has undergone a lot of changes since Golden Entertainment acquired the place in 2017 as part of an $850 million, four-casino deal. The company invested heavily in renovations, upgraded hotel rooms, restaurants and the casino, and rebranded the Stratosphere as “The STRAT” in 2019. We put that in caps because we absolutely hate that all caps thing.
On April 30, 2026, the company went private in a deal involving Golden CEO Blake Sartini and “VICI Properties” (a real estate investment trust). Vici is the landlord of The Strip.
We hate that Vici capitalizes its name, too. It’s like everyone has contracted Tourette syndrome.
Anyway, Vici acquired the real estate associated with seven Golden casino resorts, while Sartini’s privately held company continues to operate the casinos under long-term leases.
Going private means Golden no longer has publicly traded stock or the same quarterly financial reporting obligations to shareholders. It also gives Sartini greater flexibility to make business decisions without the scrutiny and short-term expectations of Wall Street.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Caesars Entertainment is doing the same thing with its acquisition by Tilman Fertitta. Going private.
Anyway, all this is inside baseball. The real problem for Strat remains its location.
Specifically, Strat is in no man’s land.
They’ve tried, but location is everything in Casinoland.
Strat is in a shady neighborhood, all due respect to crackheads.
Strat overall has always been one of our favorites on The Strip. No grandeur, and we hate heights, but it’s always been a decent value and we like the vibe. They started charging for parking, but nobody’s perfect.
We look forward to seeing what Cliff Atkinson can bring to the table at Strat. He’ll be especially useful when Strat is sold. Ahem. The over-under is 2-3 years.
We’re sort of bummed it looks like he found an attractive career opportunity, rather than it being a scandal around embezzlement or a pregnant intern or something. FSE doesn’t have interns. Which sucked for us when we worked there.
Once again, we are at a loss as to how we might end this story. We should probably ask Cliff Atkinson. He has developed a knack for ending things with class and without burning bridges.
We’re rooting for him. We also recommend he hold onto his moving boxes. All due respect.
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