While the Las Vegas Strip has become too expensive for the kitsch that was once a big part of its offering, off-Strip areas continue to offer a touch of old-school Las Vegas. The center of the Fremont St. area perfectly combines nostalgia with modernity.
That area offers a street party in a way that you really can't find on the Las Vegas Strip itself. With the street closed to traffic, Fremont St. offers an endless nightly mix of DJs, live bands, street performers and its famous “Fremont St. Experience” LED dome shows covering a portion of the street.
Related: Iconic Las Vegas Strip Attraction Won't Close (For Now)
It's a street party flanked by the ultra-modern Circa on one end and older, classic casinos like Binion's and Four Queens that still offer an old-school Las Vegas feel. Fremont St., however, is not the only off-Strip area that evokes old Las Vegas. The areas surrounding the Strip, both inside and outside the city limits of Las Vegas, offer casinos that cater to locals and take you back in time.
One of the most unique casino properties, which closed its doors during the Covid pandemic, will not reopen. Instead, they are tearing it down and replacing it with an industrial park.
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Terrible's Hotel and Casino has a sad ending
Terrible's Hotel and Casino adopted that strange nickname in 2014, a few years after it was purchased by the Herbst family, owner of a gas station chain that bears that name. When it first opened in 1987, the property, which is about 40 miles from the Las Vegas Strip, was known as Gold Strike.
The property had many things going against it besides its strange name.
“At its peak, Gold Strike-slash-Terrible's had more than 800 rooms, several restaurants and 40,000 square feet of casino. Terrible's was Jean's last gasp. No one lives in Jean, as none of its land is zoned for residential use. It is commercial and industrial use, something like the opposite of casinos,” Casino.org reported.
The property survived as a stop of sorts for people driving from California to Las Vegas. It was also a place for locals, although not many lived so close to it.
Now, after being closed for more than two years, demolition of the property has begun.
What's next for Terrible's Hotel and Casino?
Major players including Caesars Entertainment. (CZR) – Get a free report, MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts generally avoid locating properties off the Strip. However, there are operators like Red Rock Resorts, which includes the Stations Casinos brand, that specialize in off-Strip locations.
Unfortunately, none of those operators have plans for the Terrible site. Instead, the new owner, Tolles Development, will build an industrial park on the site.
Tolles partner Cory Hunt said the company has received significant interest in the pending industrial park.
“Construction of the first phase, which will consist of two buildings, will begin between March and May and will be completed in the second quarter of 2025. The first building in the first phase will be 455,000 square feet and the second around 1 million square feet” , said. he said to Las Vegas Magazine.
The new owner has not committed to building anything other than the first building. Tolles believes the location will be popular because trucks can deliver there making a round trip from California in a single day. This saves hotel costs and means trucks don't have to navigate Las Vegas Strip traffic.
And, although the Terrible's name will no longer appear on a resort casino, it can still be found in 100 convenience stores in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The name also appears on five casinos that do not have an attached hotel throughout Nevada.
