Las Vegas' first hotel casino gets a makeover

The next time you decide to roll the dice at a craps table in Las Vegas, it might be worth your while to do it at the hotel and casino that started it all: The Golden Gate.

Amidst the ever-growing hotel and casino metropolis, the historic location just finished up its first renovation in 50 years.

The $15 million renovation of the city's oldest hotel includes new suites complete with oversized beds, high-definition flat-screen televisions and vintage touches that harken back to the days of its famous guests, such as "Rat Pack"-era performers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. There is also a brand-new high-limit gaming room, and an updated casino floor. The building's exterior was also restored to its original facade, but with some new contemporary lighting

"The Golden Gate is an intimate, boutique Las Vegas hotel that's always represented that Las Vegas spirit, from the entrepreneurialism its earliest owners to just the party spirit of all of the people that came here to play through the decades," said Mark Brandenburg, co-owner of the Golden Gate Hotel and Casino.

The hotel, located in the downtown area of Sin City, opened its doors in 1906 as the first of its kind in Vegas. Back then, rooms went for $1 and the hotel became well-known for its 50-cent shrimp cocktail appetizers.

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The Golden Gate will also showcase historic Vegas artifacts that include slot machines and the city's first ever telephone. There's also the hotel's famous shrimp cocktails, a dish that has been served up more than 25 million times. But above all else, a trip through the Golden Gate doors gives you a glimpse into Vegas's past.

"We've been hear through the Roaring (1920s)," said Brandenburg. "Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. drank here and played here."

Sinatra and Davis aren't walking through those doors, but it looks like a Las Vegas original is finally roaring again.