Episode Description
The pandemic closed all Las Vegas casinos, however only a few remain shuttered to this day. Unfortunately this week we learned that 3 of the pandemic closed casinos will become a thing of the past as Texas Station, Fiesta Henderson and Fiesta Rancho are all set to be demolished with the land being sold off.
Let’s take a look at the history of these properties including how each of them is notable in its own way. We’ll also look at why these casinos aren’t being reopened, how they changed over the years and the one part that will survive this announcement, at least for now. Join us for a tour of the three Vegas casinos that we learned are now gone forever!
Produced & Edited by: Shawn Coomer
Episode Guide:
0:00 3 Las Vegas area casinos to be demolished
1:23 Why Station Casinos is closing these three casinos now
2:22 History of Fiesta Henderson & its unique claims to fame & theming
4:42 Fiesta Rancho interesting history & its history with cashless gaming
7:50 Fiesta Rancho is sold and why it is closely related to Palms
8:42 The strange history of Texas Station including its famous owner and designer
10:30 How these casinos had fallen into disrepair and received less investment over the years
12:05 Did the pandemic kill these casinos or would they have closed anyway?
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Host – Shawn Coomer – @MtM_Vegas
Host – Mark Ostermann – @DetroitMark
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27 comments
Which of these casinos will you miss the most? Did you know about their history?
Under invest; less people come;underinvest even more; even fewer people come; these aren't very profitable for some reason.
Actually casino buffets in MS take drink orders when you enter and pay the cashier. The buffet attendants bring drinks to your table as you go get food from the buffet.
Was at the opening night at Texas Station. I still have $1 tokens for the slots.
Thank you for this great video. I love that you take the time to provide us the history of these properties and provide us with context as to the role that these properties played in the development of Las Vegas. Your passion for the American hospitality and entertainment industries is clear, here and in the video on Great America’s closure (where you provided background on the park). I hope you do more videos on history. Especially for some of these “lower tier” properties that cater to locals and the like — many would dismiss them as unimportant, but you treat them with respect.
It was nice to hear your memories of these casinos.
I'm going to miss Austin's Steakhouse at Texas Station, as well as the adjacent cigar bar. Very sad news…
I think the pandemic just gave them an excuse to close sooner than they planned. I didn't know about The Reserve so thank you.
Got to suck for the people who live in the area and a slap in the face to them by the stations.
They should just use them to house the homeless. Huge problem their.
Excellent video on the history of these casinos! When it got to the part about their new projects, one of the new casinos will be built on the property of one of my all-time favorites, The Showboat. As a kid I loved bowling and I was amazed that they had 106 lanes there. Truly an icon of the past. Keep up the great videos!
Really is too bad. How do they staff these tired old properties though when some of the nicer places are having the same problem. No clue how Bufflo Bill's in Primm got open again. Where do those people live that work in Primm in dumpy Baker, Ca?
I hope they build a saddle ranch
I wonder if the second and third properties you discussed could be combined as a casino/restaurant/professional baseball stadium to lure in the Oakland A's?
I created a scientist at Texas Station as well as participating in a few science projects. Chili Bar was responsible a few.
Got hip to Texas Station when a local recommended the pan roast at the Oyster Bar. Gonna have to go to Sunset Station for it now. RIP Texas Station 😔
My daughter once made the astute observation about the drive thru sports book at Fiesta. She said, "Dad it's like the bank (they gave the kids lolipops) but you give them money and they give you paper instead of the other way around!"
I never made it to Fiesta casino, Texas casino I visited one time on one of my vegas visits but don't remember anything about it. I wonder though if going union had anything to do with the decision to close.
Regardless I'm sure there are people who will miss each one of those casinos
Especially people who worked at them.
Those three places were at the top of our list for video poker before the great "Station-fication". That said, I hope this is not the beginning of an ill-advised attempt by Stations to pivot from primarily catering to locals to thinking they're going to siphon off Strip players. (Looking at you, M Resort)
Dang it is sad to hear that the Fiesta Henderson will be gone, I spent a lot of time there with my family, good memories! I had no idea it was the Reserve before. Thanks for sharing!
TY. Never been inside any of those. Flights into then McCarran, Las Vegas Blvd and Fremont Street is all I know of Las Vegas – Three or four days per trip.
These 3 have history, but they're not historic. Not by a Longshot. They're from the 90's. Palace Station is the closest Station property to qualify for the term historic. This is what UNLV should do to Sam Boyd Stadium. It's just sitting there abandoned. They won't use it for events ever again since they have a non-compete clause with Allegiant Stadium. It should just be torn down and sold to the highest bidder.
Great vid Shawn, it's a bummer to see them go because they are Vegas staples. Sunset is one of my favorites in all of Vegas.
If you look at old 2008, 2009 era news articles about Station Casinos' planned Viva Resort, that's their end game.
Great job as usual. My father lives nearby Texas/Fiesta and used to visit everyday to play slots and get a margarita with a extra shot of tequila. Curious about the timing after the Union vote and decision to tear it down and sell the land. Why not just sell properties as is?
Thanks for the history on these 3 properties. I don't think Stations is too sad about getting rid of them. I am disappointed. When Fiesta Henderson was The Reserve, their buffet was the worst. I didn't go to Fiesta Rancho too much but did watch a few ice hockey games there. Texas Station was my favorite…watched alot of movies there. Odd coincidence, years ago my sister in San Antonio told me about a theme park there called "Fiesta Texas", and with the two properties across the street from each other, found it kinda funny.
Thanks for the video about these three casinos about to be destroyed. I never visited them but on my last visit to Las Vegas many years ago I did visit the Santa Fe casino that you mentioned in the video. At that time they had both an ice rink as well as bowling on site. I was a lower level competitive figure skater and visited to use the ice rink as well as gamble there. At that time I commented that I found my favorite casino in Las Vegas since besides having a nice casino and places to eat they had my favorite two sports that I participated in, Ice skating and bowling. As noted in the video Santa Fe doesn’t have the ice rink now but the casino that is closed still has its ice rink open. I hope they can find a way to keep that open since ice skating facilities are not that common in the area. Maybe now that there is an NHL team in Las Vegas there may be more demand for ice skating facilities.