May 31, 2017
Today we started our adventure by making the six hour drive from Elko to Las Vegas, Nevada. Our original plan was to make the drive on the morning of the 1st, but after seeing an excellent deal at The D Hotel right on Fremont Street, we opted to drive down the evening of the 31st. The D Hotel is right on Fremont Street, which makes it an excellent base for the Fremont Street Experience, and it truly is an experience. The Fremont Street Experience is a 5 block pedestrian outdoor mall, lined with casinos, stages, and retail shops. There are concerts and shows along the street, as well as a number of street performers including dancers, spray paint artists, contortionists, and purveyors of nearly every vice you can imagine. While it is a very interesting experience, I’d hesitate to walk Fremont Street after sunset if you have children.
One of the main attractions of Fremont Street is the Slot-Zilla zipline. This is a two-tier zipline that goes down the entire length of the Fremont Street Experience. The lower level has people riding in a seated position and travels five blocks down Fremont Street, 8 stories in the air. The upper level is called the “Zoomline” and travels 8 blocks down Fremont Street with flyers in a supine “Superman” position, 12 stories above the hustle and bustle of the street. We opted to start our adventure off by taking the Zoomline, and what an adventure it was. Reservations are highly recommended and can be booked online directly from the SlotZilla website.
After finishing our flight down the ZoomLine we walked back up the 8 blocks to the start of the Fremont Street Experience, pausing to see some of the casinos and street performers along the way. There is a lot to see along Fremont Street, including the world famous Heart Attack Grill (eat free if you weigh more than 350 pounds, but bring cash otherwise; credit cards aren’t accepted “in case you die before the check clears”). There are also a large number of casinos, including The D, The Golden Nugget, The Four Queens, and The Golden Gate. There is also the El Cortez, a local favorite with fair rules, low limits, and the distinction of being the “longest continuously running casino in Las Vegas.” While The Strip has the more famous casinos, if you want to go casino hopping Fremont Street is the place to be. All of the casinos are really close to one another, so going from one casino to another is no trouble. The casinos on the Strip, on the other hand, are massive resorts sitting on acres of land, and getting from one casino to the next can be an extremely long walk. Even if you want to pick just one casino, the casinos on Fremont Street will typically give you better odds and lower limits than the more famous “tourist” destination casinos on the Strip.
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