Rendezvous Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Description

The Rendezvous Hotel and Casino at 400 E. Ogden Avenue in downtown Las Vegas was a short-lived but intriguing chapter in the city’s gaming history. Operated under that name circa 1977–1978, the property attempted to carve out a place among the downtown casinos during a transitional era for the area. Before adopting the Rendezvous identity, the site was known under earlier names including the Grace Hayes Lodge and The Patio, reflecting its local lodging and entertainment roots. The conversion into the Rendezvous aimed to bring table games, slot operations, and gaming energy into a building not far from the action of Fremont Street. During its brief tenure, the Rendezvous offered craps, blackjack, slots, and even keno to patrons coming to test their luck in the downtown gambling scene. To further entice gamblers, complimentary drink chips were reportedly distributed to many customers. However, the venture proved unsustainable: after only about nine months in operation, the Rendezvous closed under that name and was rebranded as The Big Nickel around 1978–1979. The shift reflected both competitive pressures downtown and the difficulties of sustaining a small-scale casino in a rapidly evolving market. In later years the property would become part of other casino identities, finally becoming its current venue, Gold Spike. Though its life was fleeting, the Rendezvous Hotel and Casino stands as a testament to the speculative and often fast-changing nature of Las Vegas gaming enterprises. Its brief burst of activity, creative concessions like free drink chips, and multiple rebrandings capture the volatile spirit of downtown Las Vegas in the late 1970s—a time when many operations sought to stake a claim in an intensely competitive landscape.