La Bayou

La Bayou
Address 15 East Fremont Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
Opening date 1931
Total gaming space 3,200 sq ft (300 m2)
Casino type Land-based
Owner Steve Burnstine
Previous names Las Vegas Coffee House
Northern Club
Monte Carlo
Coin Castle[1]
Renovated in 2000

La Bayou is a casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.

The casino has 3,200 square feet (300 m2) of gaming space with 125 slot machines.[2][3] La Bayou is one of the few casinos in Las Vegas where slot machines pay out in coins, rather than vouchers.

History

The business opened as the Las Vegas Coffee House.

Northern Club

In 1920 Mayme Stocker renamed it the Northern Club, offering liquor and gaming when both were illegal.[1] "Northern" was a well-known codeword among railroad workers for an establishment serving alcohol.[4]

On March 20, 1931,[5] the Northern Club received the first Nevada gaming license.[6][7] This was also the first gaming license issued to a woman, Mayme Stocker.[5]

By 1941, Bugsy Siegel and Dave Stearns were operating the club.[8]

Monte Carlo Club

Wilbur Clark leased the Northern Club casino in 1945 renaming it the Monte Carlo Club.[1] The Stockers continued to run the Northern Hotel on the second floor.[1]

Coin Castle

By 1976, the site was operating as the Coin Castle.[9] Herb Pastor was approved to take over the Coin Castle and the nearby Golden Goose casino in 1977.[10] Pastor would later also own the nearby Sassy Sally's casino and the Girls of Glitter Gulch strip club.[11]

La Bayou

Pastor decided in 1999 to move ahead with a renovation plan to transform the Coin Castle and Sassy Sally's into La Bayou and Mermaids, respectively, for a total of $6 million.[12][13]

In 2006, Pastor's son, Steve Burnstine, purchased the two casinos and the strip club.[14][15]

In April 2016, Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of the neighboring Golden Gate and Las Vegas Club casinos, purchased the three properties, and announced that the businesses would close on June 27.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "A Brief History of Downtown (cont.)". Classic Las Vegas. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  2. Nonrestricted Square Footage Report (Report). Nevada Gaming Control Board. January 7, 2016. p. 6. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  3. Nonrestricted Count Report (Report). Nevada Gaming Control Board. April 18, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  4. Thomas Ainlay; Judy Dixon Gabaldon (2003). Las Vegas: The Fabulous First Century. Arcadia Publishing. p. 50.
  5. 1 2 Rinella, Heidi Knapp (July 7, 2000). "New book raises questions about Silver State". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  6. "Fremont Street Experience Brings Downtown Las Vegas Into Next Century". Fremont Street Experience. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  7. McCracken, Robert D. (1996). Las Vegas: The Great American Playground. University of Nevada Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780874173017.
  8. Larry D. Gragg (2015). Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel: The Gangster, the Flamingo, and the Making of Modern Las Vegas. ABC-CLIO. p. 24.
  9. "Penny slot machine going way of dodo". Nevada State Journal (Reno, NV). December 12, 1976.   via Newspapers.com (subscription required)
  10. "Slot operations denied by board for second time". Nevada State Journal (Reno, NV). August 11, 1977.   via Newspapers.com (subscription required)
  11. Dave Berns (July 24, 1998). "Porn Web site jeopardizes gaming exec's license". Las Vegas Review-Journal via NewsBank.
  12. Dave Berns (June 14, 1999). "Ex-problem gambler criticizes federal gaming report". Las Vegas Review-Journal via NewsBank.
  13. Peter O'Connell (August 27, 2000). "Lawsuit seeks to silence two casinos' speakers". Las Vegas Review-Journal via NewsBank.
  14. Valerie Miller (May 14, 2007). "Girls of Glitter Gulch cleans up club, tries to revamp image". Las Vegas Business Press.   via EbscoHost (subscription required)
  15. 1 2 J.D. Morris (April 21, 2016). "Stevens brothers purchase more property on Fremont Street". Vegas Inc. Retrieved 2016-04-24.

Coordinates: 36°10′16″N 115°08′46″W / 36.1712°N 115.1460°W / 36.1712; -115.1460

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