La Bayou Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Venue History

La Bayou Casino was a charming, slots-only gem nestled at 15 East Fremont Street on the vibrant Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas. Its roots trace back over a century to the storied Las Vegas Coffee House, which opened in 1913. This venue became the Northern Club in 1920, earning fame as the first gaming license ever issued in Las Vegas—held by pioneering owner Mayme Stocker. Throughout the decades, the site underwent several incarnations: Turf Club, Monte Carlo Club, and the iconic Coin Castle, whose playful coin-themed décor would later be preserved by the Neon Museum. In 1999, casino veteran Herb Pastor invested $6 million to renovate Coin Castle, giving birth to La Bayou—a lighthearted celebration of New Orleans style, complete with a Mardi Gras facade, daiquiri bar offering 26 varieties, and slot machines that paid out with jingling coins instead of the by-then-normal paper ticket voucher. In 2006, Pastor’s son Steve Burnstine took over ownership, maintaining La Bayou’s quirky charm and its dedicated team—women who distributed beads and enticed patrons into spontaneous mini-games and half-hour contest wheel drawings for $10,000 prizes. La Bayou’s final chapter began in April 2016, when real-estate entrepreneurs Derek and Greg Stevens—owners of nearby Golden Gate, The D, and Las Vegas Club—acquired the property along with Mermaids and Glitter Gulch. The celebrated local icon closed its doors permanently on June 27, 2016, and demolition followed soon after. By August 2017, the La Bayou site was fully integrated into an expanded Golden Gate casino. In its 17-year run, La Bayou stood out for its playful spirit, nostalgic atmosphere, and commitment to classic coin-based gaming—even as the rest of Vegas embraced ticket-style payouts. While it may have been small in size, its legacy endures in the history of Fremont Street as a beacon of fun and old-school charm. Today the La Bayou property remains part of the venerable Golden Gate casino.