Sneak Peek at Fremont Casino’s Expansion, Dates You Need to Know
Fremont casino is about to unveil its $50 million casino expansion and we’ve got a first look inside.
We’ve also got some key dates for when you can check out the casino expansion and shiny new food court for yourself.
Fremont casino’s expansion project has been a tough nut to crack, but construction walls have turned into curtains, so we can’t even really call it a “security breach” a this point.
Part of the casino expansion and food court footprint are in the space formerly home to Fremont’s buffet.
The casino floor will now extend farther north, toward Pizza Rock and Downtown Grand.
From what we can tell, the food court will sit in the north side of the expansion, on the Pizza Rock side.
We’ve been told Fremont casino will stagger the opening of its expansion.
The new Fremont sportsbook and casino area are slated to open Dec. 16, 2022.
The food court opens Dec. 19, 2022.
The goal was to have the entire expansion open by New Year’s Eve, and it appears Boyd Gaming (owner of Fremont casino, Main Street Station and The Cal) will hit its date, with time to spare.
Outside Fremont casino, work is being done on a walkway, sort of a “3rd Street promenade,” between Fremont Street Experience and East Ogden Ave. (and Downtown Grand, Triple George Grill, Hogs & Heifers and the Mob Museum).
Also in that direction, a new Hot N Juicy is expected to open Jan. 2, 2023. That’s in the space previously occupied by The Commissary and an eSports lounge.
Here’s a look at Fremont’s new entrance. Yes, it will feature neon rather than LEDs. We are a big fan of this high maintenance decision.
Construction at Fremont casino has been brutal for Downtown Grand, as a narrowed walkway eliminated already challenging sight lines. The rumor is it has decreased foot traffic to the casino by about a third.
The narrowed walkway flipped from the east side of the “promenade” to the west, but it’s still rough going.
The walkway reopens Dec. 22, 2022. It won’t have any fancy flourishes when it reopens, and the project is expected to take several months more to complete. (The City of Las Vegas is handling this part of the project, as opposed to the casinos or Fremont Street Experience.)
Once the walkway is reopened, work will begin on Yama Sushi.
Yama Sushi will sit in a space owned by Downtown Grand, next to the jerky store. It currently looks like crap, graffitiwise (see photo, below).
At one time, Hooters was looking at the space, but when plans for outdoor dining were nixed, they bailed. The walkway has always been sort of a no-man’s-land, but given the new “promenade,” Yama might have a fighting chance. Plus, people seem to like the existing location a lot.
Anyway, the star of the show in December 2022 is Fremont’s casino expansion and food court.
Boyd tends to be conservative in its investments of capital (they’re still feeling the pain of imploding Stardust to build Echelon before the economy imploded, too), so this is a big deal.
At one time, Boyd planned to add a hotel tower to the Fremont casino, but that was shelved.
The new casino area looks good, and the food concepts in the new food court will provide some great new options for Fremont Street regulars, among whom we count ourself.
We’ve broken all the news about the concepts coming to Fremont casino, of course. What else do we have to do? Breaking news is a lot less expensive than gambling, trust us.
Anyway, Fremont is getting Steak ‘n Shake, Huey Magoo’s, Roli Roti, CraftKitchen and Tomo Noodles. The food court will also get a Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts). Fremont already has a Dunkin’, so we assume the current location will be replaced by something else.
Fremont casino has as gritty feel, which sort of adds to the charm, and the casino expansion doesn’t stray so far afield as to disorient longtime customers.
Putting the food court as far away from Fremont Street as possible is like putting milk and eggs at the back of a grocery store. Hungry guests will have to walk past lots of slot machines. Casinos do the same thing with their restrooms, by the way.
You know we’ll be down to Fremont casino for the big debut of the casino expansion, and we’ll be working our way through all the new restaurants in the food court, of course.
Boyd isn’t the fastest-moving of the casino companies, and they have some fairly outdated ideas about casinos and revenue generation (they continue to refuse to build an outdoor bar on Fremont because they fear it will take players away from machines, when others are making money hand over fist from slushy drinks), but the expansion of Fremont casino is a much-needed breath of fresh air at this downtown fixture. The Fremont opened in 1956.
The existing sportsbook was sad, so sports fans will love that new offering as well.
It will be interesting to watch the dynamic of having a fancy new entrance/exist on the Ogden side of Fremont casino, but it will be an absolute gift for Pizza Rock and Downtown Grand.
We’re fairly sure Fremont is nervous about that back door, as players might “escape.” Deep breaths, Boyd. Come from a place of abundance, not scarcity. A better downtown experience is better for everyone.
Unveil this sucker, already. We’ve got dollars to top, wheels to fortune and royals to flush.
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