People who miss classic Las Vegas generally leave the Strip and head to the downtown Fremont Street area.
Downtown Las Vegas offers a more classic, less sanitized experience than the Las Vegas Strip's glitz and glamor. Fremont Street offers a sort of nonstop street party with bands, DJs and colorful street performers.
Related: Iconic Las Vegas Strip resort casino going out with a bang
With people ziplining overhead, visitors can take pictures with the Naked Cowboy, various Transformers, women dressed as showgirls, Mickey Mouse, and countless other characters. That all happens while the Fremont Street Experience offers a light and laser show overhead.
Fremont Street's casinos offer street-facing bars, lower table limits, and some old-school cheap dining options. It's an area that reminds many people of what Las Vegas used to be, and in fact the area predates the Strip.
"Fremont Street is where Las Vegas started," Vegas Experience explained. "The street was first established in 1905 as the center of the fledgling city where business and pleasure came together. Fremont Street was a busy travel route, with Las Vegas’ first train station just a few steps away, so it catered to travelers looking for a place to relax and unwind."
The area remains a major tourist attraction, and its newest casino, Circa, rivals anything on the Las Vegas Strip, but most of the properties like The D, Four Queens, Golden Nugget, and Binion's have an old-school charm.
One Strip property, however, has decided to make a play for the nostalgia market and bring back a piece of Las Vegas history that only one Fremont Street casino offers.
Image source: Shutterstock
Las Vegas Strip casino offers value, old-school charm
Currently only El Cortez, a Fremont Street casino, offers old-school coin slot machines. Every other casino downtown and on the Las Vegas Strip uses vouchers.
It's a change that took away the sound of quarters clanking into a machine when a customer had a big win. It also eliminated the plastic buckets people used to collect their winnings.
The new system is easier, of course, but there's a certain charm to machines that actually pay out in coins. That's a bit of nostalgia that Circus Circus, a resort casino on the Las Vegas Strip, has embraced.
"As part of a Slots-A-Fun rebrand, Vegas’ most family-friendly resort is offering food items with pricing reminiscent of a bygone era and moving the only coin-operated slot machines on the Strip into the nostalgic gaming area," the company said in a news release.
Circus Circus remains a family-friendly resort casino in a time when the city has largely abandoned efforts to appeal to all ages. The resort still offers amusement-park-style rides and circus-like attractions.
The company, owned by the investor Phil Ruffin, has tried to compete with Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International (MGM) , and the other major players by being a value property. It has also unabashedly embraced old-school Las Vegas and highlighting coin-based slot machines reinforces that.
Circus Circus bets big on value
Circus Circus has tried to market itself as a value property that might not compete with the glitz and glamour of many Strip properties but still has its own charms.
"Amidst nationwide economic shifts, Circus Circus is doubling down on its commitment to affordability and nostalgia without compromising fun and entertainment," the company writes.
"Spanning nearly 8,000 square feet, the revitalized gaming space will feature 85 iconic-coin-operated slot machines. Patrons may also indulge in a culinary journey back in time with delectable treats priced from an old-school era including $2 beers, hot dogs, and shrimp cocktails."
Essentially, Circus Circus knows it can't compete with the major players on the Las Vegas Strip on equal footing. Instead, it has tried to fill a niche for people traveling with their families looking for strong value.
