Vintage Vegas Is Making a Comeback

October 19, 2020

There is no doubt 2020 has been a harder year for Las Vegas than most cities in the US. The coronavirus crisis rendered Vegas close to a ghost town when its casinos had to shut down.

Casinos are open again now, but with a lot of changes. Social distancing measures are being enforced so many slot machines have been turned off and some table games are unavailable.Wearing face coverings is now mandatory for people visiting Vegas casinos following the issuing of an order from Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak, with around 500 people in the state having died from the virus to date.

Vegas may never be the same again as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, despite businesses doing as much as they can to bounce back and help with the country’s recovery. One thing that could help Sin City to rebuild in the coming months and years is to embrace the past – with vintage Vegas making a comeback.

Vintage Vegas at the heart of new casino

Despite 2020 being a troubling time for Vegas, new developments continue to open. Later this year will see the launch of Circa Resort & Casino, which is claimed to be the first adults-only resort of its kind to come to Vegas.Old-school hospitality will be a priority at the casino, which boasts facilities such as a pool amphitheater – which is called Stadium Swim – that is said to be the biggest in the US. Its Fremont Street location could not be better, while even the name is a nod to the past of Vegas. Vintage glamour style has been included throughout the design, with one of the city’s most iconic sights, the neon cowgirl of Vegas Vickie, set to be given pride of place in the lobby.

Guests are sure to be attracted by the largest sports book in Las Vegas, while there are 777 rooms to stay in. Each of them has all the modern amenities visitors would expect from a brand new hotel, but the vintage Vegas theme has been carefully incorporated throughout as well.Should the Circa Resort & Casino be a success when it opens in October – and assuming the pandemic has started to clear by then, it should be – then more new resorts could opt to go down the vintage Vegas road in the future.

Trend starting to spread across Vegas

One new casino embracing vintage Vegas is not enough alone to make it a trend. But another development is adding to what is fast becoming a growing theme in Sin City. Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse is a $10 million renovation at the Flamingo Las Vegas that has a defiantly vintage Vegas feel. Inside it there is a speakeasy, which is known as The Count Room. (Source: https://sportslens.com/us/texas/)

Like the Circa, the owners have delved into the past to come up with the name. The steakhouse is named after Benjamin Siegel – who was known as Bugsy – and his business partner Meyer Lansky. The duo opened the Flamingo Las Vegas all the way back in 1946.Steaks naturally take the headlines on an appealing menu, with the drinks clearly having been inspired by vintage Vegas. Rum cocktails that date back to the 1940s are available alongside more contemporary creations and those from the Prohibition era too. The head chef at Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse is Lamar Moore, who will be familiar to a lot of people after his win on Food Network’s Vegas Chef Prizefight.

Why is Vegas suddenly turning towards vintage again?

Vegas was built on the back of the then ingenious slot machine and it seems as though developers in the area are increasingly harking back to the early days of Sin City.There are always trends with this type of thing and nostalgia is en vogue right now. People always like to be reminded of the past and in the post-pandemic era it feels likely this will continue to be the case.Developments also need to stand out from the crowd, which is incredibly hard in Vegas. When every bar, restaurant and casino is fighting for attention, having a unique feel is very hard.Perhaps using a vintage Vegas design is one of the ways these businesses can differentiate themselves from the competition. After all, surviving COVID-19 is going to be difficult enough.

Guests seeking to enjoy a vintage Vegas experience should also consider heading to locations such as the Pinball Hall of Fame and the Neon Museum during their stay in Sin City.