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Las Vegas Club

Las Vegas Club was a hotel and casino located on the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Club opened in 1930, joining the Las Vegas Hotel which had opened in 1908. The Las Vegas Club was relocated across the street in 1949. At its new location, the Las Vegas Club operated within the Overland Hotel, which was established in 1905.

Las Vegas Club

Original location:
1908 (Las Vegas Hotel)
1930 (Las Vegas Club)
Second location:
1905 (Overland Hotel)
1949 (Las Vegas Club)

April 2013 (hotel)
August 20, 2015 (casino)

410

19,616 sq ft (1,822.4 m2)

Sports Hall of Fame

Land-based

1980, 1996, 2013

Jackie Gaughan and Mel Exber purchased the Las Vegas Club in 1962, and added a sports theme. Hotel towers were added in 1980 and 1996; the latter tower was part of a $35 million expansion. Exber died in 2002, and Gaughan sold the Las Vegas Club to Barrick Gaming in 2004. Barrick's partner, Tamares Group, bought out Barrick's ownership stake in 2005.


The hotel portion, with 410 rooms, was closed in April 2013. Tamares sold the Las Vegas Club two years later to Derek and Greg Stevens, who owned two other downtown casinos. The Stevens closed the Las Vegas Club casino on August 20, 2015, with plans to redevelop the resort through renovations and some demolition. It was later decided that the Las Vegas Club would be demolished entirely for a new resort. Demolition began in 2017, and the Circa Resort & Casino was opened on the site in October 2020.

History[edit]

Overland Hotel[edit]

The eventual site of the Las Vegas Club, at the corner of Main Street and Fremont Street, was initially occupied by the Overland Hotel.[1] John Wisner bought the property at a 1905 land auction for $1,750. He opened the Overland Hotel later that year.[2][3][4] In 1906, Wisner announced plans to build a two-story addition, with the existing hotel building being renovated to form a wing of the new hotel.[5][6] The addition was built south of the original structure.[7] Construction of the new building was underway in 1907,[8][9] and it opened that December. The hotel included gambling and a bar.[10] In early 1911, the ground floor was divided into three business spaces, including one for a restaurant.[11] The hotel burned down in a fire on the night of May 23, 1911. One person was killed and several were injured after jumping from a second-floor balcony. The fire originated in the hotel's restaurant.[12]


Wisner had plans to rebuild the hotel as a two-story building made of reinforced concrete.[13][14] The new Overland opened in November 1911, with the same amenities as before.[15] A veranda was soon added to the building, giving it the same appearance as its predecessor.[16] A complete remodeling of the hotel began in 1918.[17][18][19] Twelve new hotel rooms were constructed along Main Street in 1921, and the hotel was modernized.[20][21] Wisner died a year later, at the age of 66. His estate went to his daughter, Ethel Wisner Genther.[3] The Genthers carried out further improvements to the hotel in 1924, including renovations to the entire top floor.[22] The Overland included a showroom for salespeople to demonstrate their products.[23]

Original Las Vegas Club[edit]

The Las Vegas Club originally operated on the south side of Fremont Street, at 21-23 Fremont Street, midway between Main and 1st Street.[24][25] John Horden and Harry Beale had initially built the two-story Las Vegas Hotel (also called the Hotel Las Vegas) in 1908.[24][26][27][a] It operated at 19 Fremont Street,[30] next to the Northern Club casino.[31][32][33] An addition was completed in 1911, adding a barbershop, a billiard hall, and card games.[34] The Las Vegas Hotel also included a bar,[35] which was later removed and replaced by a shop in the late 1920s.[36]


The Las Vegas Club opened in late 1930,[37][38] diagonally across the street from the Overland Hotel.[31][39] J. Kell Houssels owned the Las Vegas Club with Horden and A. F. Gilmore,[25][40] who had spent approximately $1,400 on building improvements prior to the opening.[41] Before Houssel's involvement, the casino had been operating as the Smoke House,[42] owned by Gilmore and located at 23 Fremont Street.[43] The Smoke House had offered card games and pool.[42]


Horden died in 1941.[27] Benny Binion came to Las Vegas in the mid-1940s and became a partner in the Las Vegas Club.[44] In 1948, Houssels was issued a gaming license to operate the casino, although nine associates – including Binion – were denied licensing.[45] Binion then ended his partnership with Houssels and the casino.[44]


In 1949, Houssels was unable to work out a new lease deal with Horden's wife. The Las Vegas Club closed that year,[46] when Houssels relocated it across the street to the Overland Hotel at 18 Fremont Street.[31][47] Meanwhile, the original Las Vegas Club later operated as The Westerner casino during the 1950s, and then as the Club Bingo until 1983, when it became part of the Pioneer Club.[31][33][24][48]

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