Early Sunday morning, there was a brawl inside Binion’s. It spilled out into the Fremont Street Experience. It turned into a shooting. One of the people involved in the fight was killed. An innocent bystander was injured. Sadly, this is not the first violent incident at Fremont Street Experience.
This was a hot topic on social media among locals and tourists. Here are some samples:
We were at Fremont Street Experience earlier that night
Kristina and I were at Fremont Street Experience earlier in the night. We were there because we had friends visiting. They wanted to ride the SlotZilla Zipline. They had a terrible experience that showed massive unorganization.
Their reservation was for 4:45pm. They waited in lines to get to the first point in the process, even though they had a reservation. Our friends stood on the platform for over an hour before it was their turn. They said it definitely is not worth the wait or the $73 price tag.
The delay of 105 minutes messed up our group’s dinner plans. A show in a Las Vegas casino is not permitted to be more than 70 minutes. Why does Fremont Street Experience keep people in line for longer than that when they have reservations? Less money was spent elsewhere downtown because of this.
We waited by the stage between Circa and Binion’s. The vibe was terrible. It was the worst that I have ever seen there, and it was still daytime. Aggressive buskers were breaking numerous rules and being annoying on every level. There were people that didn’t seem old enough to partake in the festivities, but loitered around those that were.
There were uncontrolled children everywhere. People were drinking out of bottles everywhere. Glass is not permitted for several reasons. Security was nowhere to be found.
We got sick of the terrible environment. It was not fun at all. We ended up going to the Sand Dollar Lounge at Plaza to wait for them. We had a great time there.
Significant management issues at Fremont Street Experience
If you follow our work, you will remember that we caught Fremont Street Experience plagiarizing us. They told us it would be addressed. When we told them how to do it, they ignored us and sent a lawyer instead. We testified to the Las Vegas City Council about the management issues at Fremont Street Experience, and plan to do so anytime the organization asks the city for money.
It is becoming clearer as time passes that we discovered just a sample of how poorly Fremont Street Experience is managed. It was later learned through the Undercover Boss show that Fremont Street Experience loses $500,000 a month.
FSE is supported by both the city and LVCVA, which are co-owners of Fremont Street Experience with its members, and receives public funding for its operations. I think it is reasonable to say that the public’s share of these losses is around $4 million.
Since taxpayers help fund Fremont Street Experience, it is reasonable for residents to demand better from it. Bring people in that will push enforcement of basic rules. Hire more security personnel, while getting rid of the ones that don’t do anything.
Bring in off-duty police or similar experts that are trained in how to handle brawls before they become shootings. If this can’t be done in a reasonable time frame, bring in new people that can accomplish it. Time is running out.
Make it 21 and up after the 8pm or 9pm show
Ban everyone under 21 years of age after the 8pm or 9pm show. Maybe make an exception if they are accompanied by an adult. That was the minimum age early in the pandemic, but it was not enforced.
Get strollers out of there. Do everything to discourage people from bringing children to Fremont Street Experience at night. Definitely find a way to keep those under 21 from visiting alone.
Give gamblers a reason to fill the hotel rooms
Fremont Street Experience casinos have been on a race to the bottom in terms of game quality. We wrote about how the worst blackjack in Las Vegas is found there. Video poker pay tables have slowly deteriorated since the pandemic started.
With fewer good games to attract gamblers, hotel rooms must be filled with other guests. Better gambling would reduce the need to attract those that are there to potentially cause trouble and add little to casino profits.
Reduced access points and deterrents may be the answer
One of the biggest problems in controlling Fremont Street Experience is the number of entrances. It is impossible to properly secure the area with its design. Here is an idea for that.
I don’t like the idea of an ID scan without other major changes. There were age checks after the pandemic reopening, but these seemed pointless. Kids just entered through the casino exits onto Fremont Street.
It may be time to restrict the open access to FSE, at least at night. Just having more security at the entrances, and metal detectors on busy nights, could make all the difference. It would at least give the impression that something is being done, as opposed to nothing.
I can see why the casinos would not like this. Anything that slows the flow of pedestrian traffic and inconveniences their hotel guests is a problem. There must be something similar that would make it better without going too far.
Fixing the street performing issues
It seems like most people agree that the buskers are a huge problem. Some are too loud. Others are too aggressive. Some refuse to stay within their circles.
There are some issues with the lottery system. Some buskers do not show up for their shifts, either because people entered the lottery multiple times, or the spot they drew was not where they wanted to perform.
I get that asking for ID to perform probably violates the First Amendment. There is a way to go about this differently. Each performer is assigned a number and a Fremont Street Experience performing license for free. Their picture and the name they wish to go by is placed on it. Their real name is not required. If the performer regularly no-shows, or receives verifiable complaints for significant misbehavior, they are removed from the program.
It is simple to cross reference pictures today to avoid duplications in the system. This is not free, but it is also not prohibitively expensive, and may solve the street performer problems once and for all.
Many community minds should get together and try to solve this
There probably is not any one answer that fixes the problem. It could take several brainstorming sessions with people throughout the community to find the solutions needed. I am willing to be a part of that conversation.
If Las Vegas gets a reputation of being dangerous, tourists may think twice about visiting. The decline in gambling quality, prices that outpace inflation, hidden fees and poor staffing levels are already hurting our reputation. There is no need to add more problems to this.
If the people that operate Fremont Street Experience don’t have the solutions, they should open the discussion to the community and let people with ideas take over. If they will not do anything, the member casinos, city council and LVCVA need to push them out and replace them with people that care about Las Vegas. The future of Fremont Street Experience, and maybe the entire gaming market, depends on it.
