I bet a lot of folks don’t know that The Frontier was the second hotel/casino on the Strip, opened in 1942 (after El Rancho Las Vegas in 1941). The desert was deserted back then, with nothing but tumbleweeds, heat and a great distance between each property.
Frontier has a storied history, changing names several times (including changes from New Frontier to Frontier to New Frontier), but I think the sentiment and feel of the property was pretty consistent throughout its years. When I visited it in the late 90s and early 2000s, it reminded me a lot of the other places near it that I loved to go to on the North end of the Strip: Riviera, Stardust and Circus Circus.
Frontier was always a casual, gambler’s haven. Great table game rules, easy access, never too overcrowded and tremendous cocktail service. I recall several years ago when my best friend Steve and I visited Frontier several times. We were staying at the Riv, so Frontier was within walking distance. Steve and I played several rounds of blackjack one night, and the cocktail waitress knew us by our drinks. She brought me rum and Cokes with great frequency and speed. She had what appeared to me a Russian accent, and she was friendly. The next night, I was kind of hanging back, taking a break from gambling, watching Steve play craps. The same cocktail waitress approached me and said, “rum and Coke?” in her Russian accent. Why, yes, I don’t mind if I do! Frontier had Gillies, bikini bull riding and mud wrestling. It was just one of those properties. I could tell that same story about several casinos back in the early 1990s, after Mirage was built but before Cromwell. After TI but before the Linq and its subsequent High Roller giant observation wheel.
You see, friends, back in the day, the properties were ALL about gambling. Sure, there were some great restaurants and some spectacular shows, but in the end it was all geared towards getting your money in the casino. It started to change when high end clubs started showing up on the Strip. Before you knew it, Saturday pool parties and ultra lounges were making money, and the casino became secondary. With that came resort fees and charges for parking in garages.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be a curmudgeon who complains about Las Vegas and pines for the way it used to be. I just would like to see more balance on the Strip. You can have your million-dollar DJs and topless pools, but can you please also include a few 3:2 blackjack tables? Maybe somewhere in the back? What’s the harm, really? It’s the way you used to make money, and for folks like me, I’m more apt to spend my entertainment dollars elsewhere if I can’t get at least one good table or sports book bet.
Frontier closed and was imploded in 2007, and the spot where it stood is now vacant, deserted with tumbleweeds, much like a lot of the land that surrounded it when it first opened in 1942. Plans and intentions for new properties have fallen through, and now Wynn Resorts owns the land but has not announced any information regarding development. If you look across the street and to the south of where Frontier stood, you’ll see the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. High-end properties with lots of lights, although not the neon tubing that encompassed the buildings years ago. This is a new Las Vegas, a new frontier, built with all the modern accommodations one would expect. Except maybe for speedy cocktail service, $5 3:2 blackjack, and bikini bull riding.
Viva,
Mike