On March 3, 2026, Vegas Advantage arrived at Longhorn Casino for the Eastside Cannery implosion. We checked into our hotel room a day early to get a feel for the casino we had spent little time at over the years, and to set up our streaming equipment.
We were ahead of the rush with our hotel booking. Our two nights were about $170 plus tax. By the end, a room for the night of the implosion cost $250 for those who waited until the last minute. It came with a $100 free slot play certificate. Guests who wanted to watch the implosion from the front parking lot paid $25 for parking and received $20 in free slot play. Parking is usually free at Longhorn Casino and virtually all casinos away from the Strip and downtown.
Vegas Advantage called the front desk a few times over the weeks before the implosion to discuss the stream. All the employees were helpful and polite. This was also our experience when on the property. Longhorn is one of the friendliest locals casinos around here.
Longhorn hotel room
We checked into one room and eventually ended up in another. There was nothing wrong with the first room. Hotel management discovered there was an open one with a better view of the implosion with lower light pollution.
Both rooms were very clean. The furniture showed some wear, but there was nothing wrong with it. Clean is what matters to us, and that is what we got. The rooms have two double beds. A mini-fridge is provided.
We ate at the restaurant twice
Longhorn’s restaurant is open 24 hours and has the typical Las Vegas cafe food with daily specials. Hotel guests get two free breakfasts per day as part of the $12.99 resort fee. The options are mostly carbs like French toast and pancakes, but a two-egg breakfast with choice of sausage or bacon is also available. Coffee is included with the free breakfast. The service was quick, and the food was on the above average side for this type of dining option. Prices are typical of a locals casino. However, regular players do not pay for much food. It comes as a perk with loyal play.
Longhorn’s casino
New players and hotel guests get free slot play. We received a combined $45 in free slot play between a wheel spin at check-in and two $20 for $10 specials. One $20 for $10 special was part of our hotel coupon package. The other is a weekly promotion. Longhorn operates like a promo joint. By that, I mean it does not have the best games. However, it gives it back in free slot play and other promotions.
The best single-line video poker game we found was 7/5 Bonus Poker (98.01%). We found some better Ultimate X ones, so we played Double Bonus on them. Kristina hit four 3s on a 10x multiplier. We called it a night with about $200 in winnings.
Longhorn’s casino is all slots and video poker. It removed live blackjack during the COVID closure. It had a unique $5 3:2 game that allowed doubling down on two or three cards, among other loose rules.
Preimplosion activities
Since we run Vegas Advantage and have an old dog to take care of, we could not stay the night. We worked the next day and arrived back at Longhorn around 9pm. We ate again in the restaurant and got a drink from the bar. The coupon book comes with a free drink for each night’s stay. Drink prices are already cheap anyway. Beer is $3 per bottle, and mixed drinks are not much more.
Longhorn sold implosion t-shirts for $12 each. We each got one and wore them during the before and after selfies below.
Getting ready for the livestream
After the first selfie, we returned to the room to get the YouTube livestream ready. You can watch the full stream here. Skip to the 1:45 mark to see the implosion.
This is the pile of rubble Eastside Cannery became after the implosion:
Last Updated on March 14, 2026 by John Mehaffey
