Sigma Derby Coming To Downtown, And More Changes In Store

Last week, Vegas podcast Five Hundy By Midnight interviewed Derek Stevens, CEO and co-owner of Golden Gate and Fitzgeralds. The interview revealed a lot of updates on the two casinos, mostly surrounding Fitzgeralds, which we realized is the only two-story casino in Vegas. (Not something we ever thought about.)

The renovations to Fitzgeralds will take eight months from the last week of January with the first visible renovations being ready by the middle of March, in time for March Madness. The first major renovation will be to the bar on the first floor. It will be renovated so that it becomes the focal point of the casino. There will be another bar outside on Fremont Street so we can partake in one of our favorite pastimes - drinking outside.

The new changes will also bring go-go dancing, a la the party pits you see in many casinos. Upstairs will have a vintage feel as we've already revealed, and will house most of the video poker and slot machines. The thing many gamblers will be excited about it that Mr. Stevens confirms that there will be a Sigma Derby machine on the new second floor. Something VegasChatter fans have already caught wind of and are very excited about:

Also at the Fitz, all 640 rooms will get a facelift. No details on design or style were revealed, but they will be on par with most casino renovations to make Fitzgeralds competitive with the other�downtown casinos.

The final bit of information to note is that towards the end of the interview Derek Stevens skirted around the potential new name of Fitzgeralds, The D�Hotel. The tone of his voice seemed as if they were going to name the casino The D, but are reconsidering the new name based on lots of negative feedback. The official name will be announced sometime around St. Patricks Day.

While the renovations at Fitzgeralds are vast and will take time, the same can't be said for Golden Gate, which has much more simple renos planned. Most Golden Gate changes, as well as new suites, will be ready by mid-March, again, just in time for March Madness. The rest of the renovations will be completed two months later. Like with most older casinos, the rooms are very small and no matter how pretty the rooms are made, they're still going to be small. With that in mind, the top floor will be made into two gigantic suites that will take up the entire floor. The floor below will have 14 more "normal" style suites that will rival El Cortez Cabana Suites.

Mr. Stevens' candor was wonderful to hear as many casino bosses are very calculated when they're interviewed. There have been so many new bars downtown in the past couple years that we're looking very forward to more updated casinos.

To listen to the entire podcast, click here.

(Photos: David Herrera on Flickr)

Comments (5)

Return to » Sigma Derby Coming To Downtown, And More Changes In Store

Thanks for the update. . .we have always loved the Sigma Derby even though it is a bit "funky!" That's what makes it fun!

What is this game you speak of?

Furls, here's a video. It's definitely more fun of a game than it looks. Haha. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiXopHX6L0A

Basically its old school electronic horse racing? Nice!

That's about it. It's a cheap game that is kinda hokey to play. :)

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