Fremont St. "X"-perience?
Poll
 | 37 votes (77.08%) | ||
| | 3 votes (6.25%) | ||
| | 8 votes (16.66%) |
48 members have voted
There was a time when a family could have a fun time taking a stroll under the canopy, checking out the motorcycles in the "hamsterball of death", and just worry about shielding the kiddies eyes as you hurried past the "Glitter Gulch". I think that those days are done, and it is not "safe" to bring young 'uns anymore. What say you to this trend toward adult oriented entertainment on Fremont?
Quote: AyecarumbaWhat say you to this trend toward adult oriented entertainment on Fremont?
I say: "Is this a great town or WHAT?"
Can't keep the kiddies sheltered forever. It's a big world out there. I had to find my first stack of Playboys in a dumpster, now you see scanty bra ads in Sunday's Parade magazine in the paper (as if anyone still reads the Sunday paper anymore). Sally Struthers couldn't even say "pregnant" on All in the Family, and now we have celebrity sex tapes. Casino pools in this town have clothing-optional sections (called "toptional" in the adverts). Every cab has banners for "Girls Direct to your Room" now instead of just for the Riv's Crazy Girls. That's progress. If you don't like it, then you're probably one of those guys who screams "You kids get out of my yard!"
Um, 'Sin City', duh. Not 'Bring Your Kiddies City', they already tried that and it flopped big time. Remember why they built Circus Circus? I hated Vegas in those days, its like they were trying to make it into Disneyland with gambling. Yuk.
I think you gotta get your head out of the 1990's. You know: The decade where Vegas shot themselves in the foot by changing the image to one of "family friendly vacation destination."
Now with Dennys coming the Fremont Parents will have healthy options for feeding the kids.
The first time that I went to the Fremont Experience, even though I was an adult, I was with my mom. We watched the Fremont Street Show, and then walked up the street, only to pass right by this strip club.
Moving the dancers out onto the street isn't really that much of a big deal, considering that Las Vegas, in general, probably shouldn't be the destination of choice for children anyway.
One of the times I was in Vegas staying at the Golden Nugget, there was some kind of football (not handegg) tournament going on, and the players were all young girls, probably middle school age. Of course they, and all their families, were staying at the Golden Nugget. I find this to be a strange thing to do. One, to have the tournament in Las Vegas, especially a tournament for kids. However, if the tournament is going to be held, why should they be staying at a casino? While I've never stayed in Las Vegas anywhere other than a casino, I'm sure there are "regular" hotels somewhere around the area. I guess I feel like staying at a casino is a benefit to the parents rather than a benefit to the children, and it seems to me that if the tournament is for the children, they should come first.
Of course, all of this comes from the point of view of a guy without children, so it's a very real possibility that my views on this would be different if I did have kids.
Quote: DJTeddyBearFamily fun? In Sin City?
My sentiments exactly.
I don't think most adults who bring their kids to Vegas do so looking for a family vacation. I think it's more like they have no one to leave them with.
Quote: konceptumThere is a strip club, or at least there was, right on Fremont Street. I don't remember the name. I do remember that it is up by the Plaza(?), I believe.
Girls of glitter Gulch has been operating for decades.
I don't think any of the recent changes have made Fremont Street any worse.
Quote: NareedI don't think most adults who bring their kids to Vegas do so looking for a family vacation. I think it's more like they have no one to leave them with.
As if the Strip on weekends isn't already crowded enough, it's really bad to navigate through all the strollers sometimes. With twins. After midnight. And parents have those 3-foot tall pink hollow guitar drinks. Really? Drunk and pushing a stroller at 2am?
Is there an enclave somewhere for Churches, Family Values and Sobriety? Well, where do you think all those Vegas Visitors flew in from!
Or to borrow a line uttered in that famous casino in Culver City, California, the Montecito: Its a casino, not a convent, show some!
Kids are brought to Vegas so the parents can more easily trade bouts of freedom by parking the kids somewhere: the room, the arcade, the Strip, the KiddieKareKorner, etc.
I don't know what little girls elsewhere want to grow up to be, but in Vegas little girls want to grow up to be Cocktail Waitresses and Pole Dancers because that is all they see on billboards, television, taxicabs, newspaper racks and Fremont Street. Vegas should get busy using zoning laws to close down all these non-conforming uses such as churches. The zoning commissions Master Plan is Gambling and Glitter.
Kids who grow up in Vegas learn to talk and their first sentences are either: You Going Out, Honey or Are You Working. Cab drivers don't want to take a fare to a church because the church doesn't give the cabbie a kickback.
You want a place that has churches, schools and family values? I don't know... perhaps Iowa somewhere, but even in Iowa, the cabbie wishes he were driving in Vegas.
Quote:There was a time when the main draw to the Fremont St. Experience was the light show under the canopy.
There was a time BEFORE FREMONT STREET HAD A CANOPY when the main draw there was the low limits, good gambling, cheap eats, and cheap/free drinks. The good gambling is getting tougher to find, but the rest are still there, kinda sort of. And thank goodness for it.
Quote:worry about shielding the kiddies eyes as you hurried past the "Glitter Gulch".
No kids, but I think there are more important things to shield their eyes from than that set of bodacious tatas over there.
Quote:it is not "safe" to bring young 'uns anymore.
Was it ever? Fremont St. was built by adults, for adults (who want to do some kid-like, but distinctly adult, things).
Quoting EvenBob:
Quote:Remember why they built Circus Circus? I hated Vegas in those days, its like they were trying to make it into Disneyland with gambling. Yuk.
You're remembering two separate periods. CC was built in 1968 - FOR ADULTS. But its features appealed a lot to kids, and their parents, and the owners went with the flow. The family-friendly period in LV started in 1992, when Excalibur was built. That one was built more with kids in mind, as was the MGM Grand (remember their theme park?).
From DJTeddyBear:
Quote:I think you gotta get your head out of the 1990's. You know: The decade where Vegas shot themselves in the foot by changing the image to one of "family friendly vacation destination."
Las Vegas did just fine during the 90s, thankuverymuch. Certainly better than they've done the past five years. Though it's true they went into hyperdrive after the family friendly theme was quietly shelved and they built those big, huge megaresorts like the Venetian.
And back to Ayecarumba with his original question:
Quote:What say you to this trend toward adult oriented entertainment on Fremont?
I say why not? They've gotta do something. Fremont's been heading down for awhile.
Casinos, bars, strippers, ... Fremont street is not much different than anywhere else. A predominant industry dictates the zoning issues.
Downtown has its CoinsIn kiddie "nightclub" and soon its "kiddie oriented" concert venue. Shot and beer bars are now more upscale Martini bars. Vegas was Sin City long before it adopted that as its slogan. There was never much reason to go out to the middle of the Mojave Desert but for something not quite as spectacular at home. So just because there has been a transition away from the casino and towards the nightclub, dayclub, restaurant and NuddieBar, doesn't mean that Fremont Street won't reflect the true business of Las Vegas.
Quote: FleaStiffWhen Circus Circus ditched its host and said we no longer want whales we want parents bringing the kids and their wallets, there was a sort of transition to the aura of a family friendly entertainment mecca but as with all advertising it was a veneer that covered a distinctly seemy underbelly.
Casinos, bars, strippers, ... Fremont street is not much different than anywhere else. A predominant industry dictates the zoning issues.
Downtown has its CoinsIn kiddie "nightclub" and soon its "kiddie oriented" concert venue. Shot and beer bars are now more upscale Martini bars. Vegas was Sin City long before it adopted that as its slogan. There was never much reason to go out to the middle of the Mojave Desert but for something not quite as spectacular at home. So just because there has been a transition away from the casino and towards the nightclub, dayclub, restaurant and NuddieBar, doesn't mean that Fremont Street won't reflect the true business of Las Vegas.
I'm not sure "Coinsin" is Kiddie themed. They do card you at night and I don't know how many teens today want to play a 30 year old Frogger game.
Quote: zippyboy. That's bad if you're playing BJ and she's constantly facing the other way watching herself in the mirror.
Not if she has a nice butt. That would be bad for keeping my count I admit.
I love Google!Quote: Wavy70I'm not sure "Coinsin" is Kiddie themed. They do card you at night and I don't know how many teens today want to play a 30 year old Frogger game.
The actual name of the place is Insert Coin(s). Here's the website: http://www.insertcoinslv.com/
And that's to your comments, I just added it to my Vegas ToDo list. (Although, quite frankly, downtown including Freemont East is already on my list, so I probably would have seen it....)
. . . . and would be a ready distraction for a pickpocket's easy mark.Quote: s2dbakerI'll be staring at the bouncers.
It still works both ways.
Quote: DJTeddyBearI love Google!
The actual name of the place is Insert Coin(s). Here's the website: http://www.insertcoinslv.com/
And that's to your comments, I just added it to my Vegas ToDo list. (Although, quite frankly, downtown including Freemont East is already on my list, so I probably would have seen it....)
Correct on the name. They seem to use both logos. Rather confusing. BTW Fremont only has 1 E ;)
Wife and I went to IC on it's opening weekend. Big crowds, long lines, well attended. Rather disappointed. In the course of an hour I attempted to play about 15 stand alone games. Game would either take my coin wiht no credit registered or just pass through to the coin return. So maybe played 4 games. Gets a bit annoying hunting down a employee to get 50 cents back.
The game systems are for bottle service only. So didn't use them. Not going to pay $150 for a $20 bottle to play a game I can buy used for $30.
I hope these issues were opening day glitches. I would try again.
sometimes, so do the bouncers ;)Quote: DJTeddyBear
It still works both ways.
Quote: s2dbakerI never understood why someone would want to watch an unobtainable sex object gyrate in front of them knowing in advance that you can't have that. .....I'll be staring at the bouncers.
ha! And the bouncers ARE obtainable?
Now, where will these folks, who no longer feel comfortable bringing their kids, spend their money? As the seediness factor grows, it will certainly attract those who enjoy it, but will these guys spend as much as the family that was chased away?
And yes, those that are attracted by seediness will spend more than the family. They (I) don't have any college funds to worry about.
You're absolutely right.Quote: AyecarumbaThanks for all the interesting replies. I understand that casinos are for adults, but there was a time when "adult entertainment" venues had their own neighborhood, or were sectioned off from the public areas.
And in the city of Las Vegas, that neighborhood has always been Fremont Street.
The Fremont Street Experience, complete with the video canopy, is not intended to transform the area into a family friendly zone.
It's intended to bring people to the area. Far too many visitors to Vegas never even step one foot in the city of Las Vegas. The FSE is one of the best attempts to change that.
But it was never intented to be "family friendly."
Quote: AyecarumbaAs the seediness factor grows, it will certainly attract those who enjoy it, but will these guys spend as much as the family that was chased away?
What makes you think a family with kids has the kind of disposable income that they drop a bundle in Vegas? The couple of families I know that went spent almost nothing on gaming, they couldn't afford it.
Quote: DJTeddyBear
But it was never intented to be "family friendly."
I'm sure many a family has been started in Vegas. Intended or not.
Vegas Baby!!Quote: Wavy70I'm sure many a family has been started in Vegas. Intended or not.
Quote: RonDiazYou should not bring the "young uns" to Las Vegas period. Enjoy the other 99% of the country and bring them with you to Vegas when they are 18/21+.
Agreed 100%. Funny thing, I always thought the parent types that would bring children to Las Vegas were the degenerate gamblers that would leave their kids at the pool or in the room so that they could go gamble all day. Although some of these people do exist, I find it very surprising that the majority of parents that bring there kids to Vegas don't gamble much at all because of limited funds. They come to see the sights and sounds. I just don't get this. Las Vegas is an adult town. I would never even consider bringing a child to Las Vegas, it's insane to me.
I don't get it either.Quote: IkeAgreed 100%. Funny thing, I always thought the parent types that would bring children to Las Vegas were the degenerate gamblers that would leave their kids at the pool or in the room so that they could go gamble all day. Although some of these people do exist, I find it very surprising that the majority of parents that bring there kids to Vegas don't gamble much at all because of limited funds. They come to see the sights and sounds. I just don't get this. Las Vegas is an adult town. I would never even consider bringing a child to Las Vegas, it's insane to me.
Sure, I can understand people coming to Vegas with no intention of gambling, but even those people should realize that it's not a destination for kids. Take the kids to Disney. Come to Vegas once the kids are out of the house. Or leave them behind....
My opinion is if you bring your kids to a city check up before hand and don't bitch about it. Take the kids down Bourbon Street or for more fun a walking tour of Hamburg. That will make LV look like church.
Quote: Wavy70IMO Las Vegas is one of the best Airports in the USA for access to national parks within a days drive. Between CA/NV/AZ and UT.
My opinion is if you bring your kids to a city check up before hand and don't bitch about it. Take the kids down Bourbon Street or for more fun a walking tour of Hamburg. That will make LV look like church.
This is a legitimate point, but take the kids to the national parks I guess and not Fremont Street.
Quote: RonDiazThis is a legitimate point, but take the kids to the national parks I guess and not Fremont Street.
But I will miss seeing all the bored lil faces.
Quote: IkeI find it very surprising that the majority of parents that bring there kids to Vegas don't gamble much at all because of limited funds. They come to see the sights and sounds. I just don't get this. Las Vegas is an adult town. I would never even consider bringing a child to Las Vegas, it's insane to me.
The funny thing is..I went to Las Vegas MORE before I was 21, then after I was 21...
There's a LOT of stuff to see/do in Vegas that doesn't requrie 21+. It's basically a sensory overload for ANYONE.
Now, I wasn't quite your normal teenager, but still a teen none the less. We went on average 2x a year from 13-19.
Is it safe to assume that on many of those trips, you had some time to yourself while your parents did some adult stuff (gambling and/or other adult stuff) ?
Yeah, there absolutely IS stuff for kids in the 13-20 age bracket to do without getting too bored.
It's the parents that bring the younger kids that make me wonder. And you still have to admit, the #1 industry makes no effort to disguise the fact that it's strictly for the 21+ crowd...
Quote: gofaster87To be honest with you all Vegas is good for is night life and gambling. Going to Red Rock and Mt. Charleston gets old. Mid summer heat(110-120) is not great for mountain biking, hiking or running even though I do it. I live here and I do get bored, I really miss living near the beach and having several lakes and the ocean to fish from(that are clean.) I do love the casinos though and when that gets old Ill probably move back to Cali.
Partly its the terrain, everything in the distance is brown. Mountains are brown, desert is brown. Without the casinos there would be no reason to live there.
Quote: Wavy70I'm sure many a family has been started in Vegas. Intended or not.
I used to think it would be a great idea to market a line of baby clothes that say "I'm what happened in Vegas." Then it turns out that someone beat me to it.
Quote: DJTeddyBearI don't get it either.
Sure, I can understand people coming to Vegas with no intention of gambling, but even those people should realize that it's not a destination for kids. Take the kids to Disney. Come to Vegas once the kids are out of the house. Or leave them behind....
I never went to Las Vegas until my kids were old enough to leave at home alone. Then I never brought them with me until they were 21.
Someone commented that families are the reason Circus Circus was built. I heard somewhere that when CC opened, it had a dunk tank with a nekkid girl in it. Not quite a "family" attraction.
Quote: RonDiazYou should not bring the "young uns" to Las Vegas period. Enjoy the other 99% of the country and bring them with you to Vegas when they are 18/21+.
True! My kids want to hear about my Vegas trips, and say they want to see the neat stuff I tell them about (Bellagio Fountains, Mirage White Tigers & volcano, M&M's World, roller coasters, etc.). They whined when I told them they can't go until they are older.
Once my youngest turns 21, I'm definitely taking her there. She's the luckiest little kid I've ever seen!
While those things are certainly cool, and kid friendly, you gotta explain that once you see that, there's nothing for kids to do for the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day.Quote: Toes14My kids want to hear about my Vegas trips, and say they want to see the neat stuff I tell them about (Bellagio Fountains, Mirage White Tigers & volcano, M&M's World, roller coasters, etc.). They whined when I told them they can't go until they are older.
Quote: AlanRRTI heard somewhere that when CC opened, it had a dunk tank with a nekkid girl in it. Not quite a "family" attraction.
Circus Circus was not aimed at families when it opened in 1968. It didn't even have hotel rooms for the first four years. When Grand Slam Canyon - Adventuredome was opened in 1993 as part of the transformation of Vegas into a "family friendly destination". Adventuredome competed with the park in MGM-Grand.
The 'adult' dunking tanks at Circus Circus had a sleeping beauty would lay on a platform wearing a thin dress... if the customer was able to hit the target she would fall into the tank... and the thin dress would become very transparent.
Quote: AlanRRTSomeone commented that families are the reason Circus Circus was built. I heard somewhere that when CC opened, it had a dunk tank with a nekkid girl in it. Not quite a "family" attraction.
On my very first trip to Vegas I was 8 or 9 years old. We went as part of a packaged tour, which included visits to LA, SF, San Diego and, of course, Disneyland. I've fond memories of the latter, and some of the Bay area and LA, but I hardly remember anything about Vegas.
We did stay at the CC, though. I recall the kids' games, but they were really nothing special as you could find similar games almost anywhere. I also recall being told I couldn't even step inside the casino. Aside from that, I've a very vivid image in my mind of slot machines at the Vegas airport. That's it. But then on that trip all I cared about was going to Disneyland :)
Quote: DJTeddyBearFamily fun? In Sin City?
I think you gotta get your head out of the 1990's. You know: The decade where Vegas shot themselves in the foot by changing the image to one of "family friendly vacation destination."
Seems to come in waves, that is, they try it every few years or so. Circus Circus in the 1970s, then again in the late 1990s with Treasure Island and Star Trek and whatnot. But the strip was still packed with porn slappers, so it never ended up playing out. Somebody told me that the porn slappers are gone, but you're always gonna have stuff like this.
I saw an article not too long ago about the AC Tropicana trying to recover from a $53 million loss to an unnamed gentleman at the baccarat tables by dressing its blackjack dealers in lingerie with push-up corsets (I'm not kidding). So it's not just Vegas. Gambling is adult entertainment, so it's gonna attract the other forms of adult entertainment to the scene. You wanna take the kids somewhere? Go to Sea World.
