Mermaids Casino, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Description

Mermaids Casino was a small, island-themed slot machine casino located at 32 East Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, operating from 1999 until June 27, 2016, before being demolished to make way for the Circa Resort & Casino. The building that became Mermaids had a long and varied lineage under other names before taking on the mermaid motif. It originally opened in 1956 as the Silver Palace, notable for being among Las Vegas’ first two-level casino and featuring Southern Nevada’s first escalator, connecting the gaming floor with a lower-level restaurant. Over the years it underwent multiple ownership changes and rebrandings, becoming Carousel, Gambler’s Hall of Fame, Sundance West, and Sassy Sally’s before finally being remodeled into Mermaids. In 1999, then-owner Herb Pastor invested in renovations and rebranded the property as Mermaids, adopting a tropical / island motif, with décor, signage, and ambiance echoing a seaside escape in the heart of Nevada. Mermaids was strictly a slots-only casino: there were no table games. The gaming floor covered roughly 7,000 square feet. Within its walls, it cultivated a reputation for affordable, down-to-earth fun: cocktail servers, a casual snack menu (including 99-cent food items), and signature offerings like deep-fried Twinkies helped reinforce its casual charm. It also famously offered cheap frozen daiquiris and had a small full-service bar. In April 2016, brothers Derek and Greg Stevens, owners of nearby downtown properties including Golden Gate, purchased Mermaids, La Bayou, and the adjacent Girls of Glitter Gulch strip club, announcing that all would close on June 27, 2016 to clear the way for a new mega-resort project. Mermaids was then demolished in 2017, along with several adjacent properties, to enable construction of the Circa Resort & Casino, which opened in late 2020. Though Mermaids no longer exists, it remains a favorite among downtown Las Vegas memories: a modest, accessible, and characterful betting spot where snacks, roadside charm, and slot machines formed a uniquely Fremont Street flavor. Its story encapsulates the shifts in downtown gaming—how small, independent properties made way for consolidated, large-scale redevelopment.