Las Vegas’ oldest hotel, the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, has celebrated its 120th anniversary this week, after opening its doors on Jan. 13, 1906, as the Hotel Nevada.
Key Takeaways
- Las Vegas’ oldest hotel celebrates 120 years in operation this week.
- A birthday party will be held on Friday with complimentary shots, giveaways, and commemorative merchandise.
- Despite Las Vegas seeing tourism decline, the owner of the hotel, Derek Stevens, has expressed no concern, expecting Las Vegas to pick up once again.
The Golden Gate will celebrate its historic milestone on Friday evening with an anniversary party featuring giveaways, complimentary birthday shots, and commemorative merchandise.
While the property has expanded throughout the years, its original footprint still stands on the corner of Fremont and Main Street, seen through 11 second-story windows on Main Street, and seven on Fremont Street, which belonged to the hotel's first guest rooms, with the “original” still being part of the rooms available today.
“This is, literally, the birthplace of hotel tourism and casino as we know it today in Las Vegas,” said Jeff Victor, Vice President of Operations for Circa Hospitality Group, on Thursday morning to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
After being purchased by brothers Derek and Greg Stevens in 2006, who now operate the hotel along with The D and Circa hotel-casinos in Las Vegas, its long history came into sharper focus. Derek Stevens said the reason for their purchase was the hotel's individuality, which could not be copied.
“From a product and a brand differentiation perspective, (we thought that) if this worked out well, this was a great launching pad for us coming to Las Vegas,” he said.
After its acquisition in 2006, a kitchen space was discovered, one of the original additions to the hotel, which remains today on display.
While its past remains a focal point of its history, the casino and hotel have also continued to develop, introducing the concept of dancing dealers, which is still seen at The D and Circa casinos, despite the Golden Gate replacing its live dealer table games with electronic table games last year.
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Las Vegas tourism decline isn’t a concern to Circa Sports and Golden Gate owner
As the Golden Gate celebrates its 120th anniversary, there is no denying that Las Vegas tourism has declined in the past year, with June 2025 seeing hotel occupancy fall 6.5% year-over-year, and Harry Reid Airport also reporting a decline in passenger traffic.
However, Derek Stevens, who also owns Circa Sports, has said he isn’t concerned about the fall in foot traffic. Instead, he believes the downfall of Las Vegas is “exaggerated” and that the outlook for Vegas remains positive. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 3.1 million visitors in June, down 11.3% year-over-year, and hotel room prices decreased 6.6% year-over-year to an average of $163.64 per night.
However, despite the decline in visitors, Las Vegas’ Strip has still seen revenue increase year over year, with June generating $765.3 million, up 3.5%.
Stevens believes the positions of the Circa casino, along with those of nearby casinos, were less likely to be affected by the declines.
Only time will tell whether Las Vegas’ tourism will pick up in 2026; however, with significant sports events in the coming months, which have been crucial to casinos, there could still be hope for the Strip.
