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Pioneer Club Las Vegas was a casino that opened in 1942 and was located in
The Pioneer Club occupied a building that was built in 1918 and originally served as a restaurant. The Pioneer Club and Cocktail lounge opened in April 1942 on the corner of 1st Street and Fremont Street.
In 1965, the Pioneer Club bought The Elwell Hotel located at 200 South First St. directly behind the Pioneer Club and renamed it the Pioneer Club Hotel. The Hotel was sold in 1969 and became the Golden Hotel. In 1983 The Pioneer Club bought Club Bingo located to the west of it and enlarged its Casino area. From 1956 to 1967 it was called the New Pioneer Club. In 1984 The Golden Nugget bought the hotel and demolished it, building a parking garage for its Casino and Hotel in its place.
For many years, The Pioneer Club was one of downtown's leading casinos.
Margaret Elardi who also owned the
Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce
/ref> in 1947 consisting of a cowboy in blue jeans with a yellow-checked shirt and red bandanna. Vegas Vic was then erected on the exterior of the building in 1951 changing the exterior of The Pioneer club forever. Vegas Vic and the exterior of the Pioneer Club are prominently featured in shots from the 1971
Image:Pioneer club 05.jpg, The Pioneer Club 1940s
Image:Pioneer club 03.JPG, The Pioneer Club 1950s
Image:Vic-yellowshirt.JPG, The Pioneer Club 1973
Image:Vegas Vic-closeup.jpg, Vegas Vic closeup, post 1998 restoration
Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the S ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
, at 25 East Fremont Street
Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the h ...
. It ceased operating as a casino in 1995, the same year the Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some ...
was completed.
History
The Pioneer Club occupied a building that was built in 1918 and originally served as a restaurant. The Pioneer Club and Cocktail lounge opened in April 1942 on the corner of 1st Street and Fremont Street.
In 1965, the Pioneer Club bought The Elwell Hotel located at 200 South First St. directly behind the Pioneer Club and renamed it the Pioneer Club Hotel. The Hotel was sold in 1969 and became the Golden Hotel. In 1983 The Pioneer Club bought Club Bingo located to the west of it and enlarged its Casino area. From 1956 to 1967 it was called the New Pioneer Club. In 1984 The Golden Nugget bought the hotel and demolished it, building a parking garage for its Casino and Hotel in its place.
For many years, The Pioneer Club was one of downtown's leading casinos.
Margaret Elardi who also owned the Frontier Hotel
The New Frontier (formerly Hotel Last Frontier and The Frontier) was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property began as a casino and dance club known as Pair O' Dice, opened in 1931. It was sold in 1941, and inc ...
on The Strip and later the Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall casino in Laughlin, owned the club for a while, then Gold Strike Resorts
Gold Strike Resorts was a family of gaming companies based in Jean, Nevada.
History
In 1994, Gold Strike announced a partnership with Mirage Resorts to build a $250-million casino targeted at budget-conscious visitors, on part of the site of the d ...
. In 1992 new owners purchased the Pioneer Club but were unable to compete with the larger casinos on Fremont Street both at the beginning and at the end of the Fremont Street Experience or with the large new megaresorts on The Strip. The owners closed the venerable casino in 1995 and it remained vacant until 1998 when Schiff Enterprises bought the Pioneer Club and opened a souvenir store inside. The vintage Pioneer Club signs and Vegas Vic sign still exists on the exterior of the building.
Vegas Vic
Although the Pioneer Club no longer operates as a casino, Vegas Vic (The 40 ft neon cowboy) lives on. In 1947 Las Vegas chamber of Commerce hired a West-Marquis firm which invented the Fremont Street Cowboy Vegas Vic and his friendly "Howdy Podner" greeting. The Young Electric Sign Company was commissioned to build the neon version of the sign by the owners of the Pioneer Club. They then commissioned Pat Denner who modeled it after the image used by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce/ref> in 1947 consisting of a cowboy in blue jeans with a yellow-checked shirt and red bandanna. Vegas Vic was then erected on the exterior of the building in 1951 changing the exterior of The Pioneer club forever. Vegas Vic and the exterior of the Pioneer Club are prominently featured in shots from the 1971
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''Diamonds Are Forever''.
Gallery
Notes
References
*http://www.lasvegassun.com/history/timeline/ *http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/Jan-16-Sun-2000/news/12757407.html {{Downtown Las Vegas Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley Downtown Las Vegas Buildings and structures in Las Vegas Landmarks in Nevada Commercial buildings completed in 1918 1942 establishments in Nevada 1995 disestablishments in Nevada