Big Nickel Rendezvous Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Venue History

The site at 400 East Ogden Avenue has hosted several incarnations over the decades, none more intriguing than its time as the Rendezvous and later Big Nickel. These transformations reflect both ambition and struggle in Downtown Las Vegas’ mid-scale gaming world. In 1977, the property opened its life as the Rendezvous Hotel & Casino, converting a former Grace Hayes Lodge / “The Patio” structure into a gaming venue. The gaming operations there were short lived — reportedly lasting only about nine months — offering a mix of slots, blackjack, craps, and keno, along with complimentary drink chips to patrons. By late 1978, the Rendezvous name had been shed and the property was reborn as the Big Nickel. Under the Big Nickel banner, the property sought to carve a niche in the crowded Downtown landscape. Its signage and branding leaned into classic theme play — the “nickel” motif evoking value gaming — even as competition from established Fremont Street casinos made survival difficult. Over time, ownership changes and evolving market pressures led to further rebirths. The site would eventually become part of the Gold Spike property, which carried on the gaming tradition there (at least until later redevelopment curtailed gaming operations). As Gold Spike, the location was better known in recent decades — but its roots in the Rendezvous / Big Nickel era remain an evocative chapter in Downtown casino history. Though never a high roller’s destination, the Rendezvous / Big Nickel era at 400 East Ogden illustrates the gamble of mid-scale casinos trying to find footing amid the neon giants of Fremont Street. It was a place of transformation, theme, and survival, while offering glimpses of vintage Las Vegas’s willingness to experiment. Today, that address stands as part of the layered narrative of Downtown — a reminder of properties that rose, reinvented, and gave way to new visions in the city’s ever-shifting skyline.