On August 14th, 1951, Benny Binion opened Binion’s Horseshoe after purchasing the land from the resorts of the Hotel Apache and Eldorado Club. It was the first casino downtown that had both carpet and comps offered to all gamblers. Of course, it was also the place where the World Series of Poker started.
Before Binion’s Horseshoe existed as mentioned above, there was a place called Hotel Apache there from 1932 to 1941. When it opened in 1932, an invitation was sent out and it said all people could come gamble after 5:00 PM. The marketing said it was the most luxurious place in Nevada. Room rates were anywhere from $3 to $7 a night. There were 60 rooms. Below you can actually see a postcard from the place.
The reason we are talking about this is that recently Binion’s reopened some of its hotel rooms to the public. Of the over 300 rooms that closed down back in 2009, 81 new rooms are now open again. They are calling it Hotel Apace. The rooms will give a vintage throwback feeling that will have an old-style phone for example. So, for those interested, one can stay at Binion’s again on the Fremont Street Experience.
This week, we are showing you our entire Binion’s chip collection for purchase in honor of Hotel Apache. You can purchase each chip clicking on the picture below:
The Stratosphere has officially changed its name to The Strat. You can buy the new chips clicking the picture below. We have the $1, $5 and $25 chip.