In the ceiling above the gaming pit at the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino are 20 shiny, dark glass panels through which casino employees looked for cheaters. They'd lie on their stomach on a railroad cart that rolled along a track in an overhead space no more than 36 inches high above the two-way mirrors.
The rudimentary surveillance system installed in the 1950s, long supplanted by "eye in the sky" camera technology, is just one of the many reminders of the downtown Las Vegas hotel-casino's long history.
"The unique thing about Golden Gate was, over the years, it evolved very slowly," said Derek Stevens, who bought 50% of hotel-casino in 2006. "It's a place where time stands still, and you get to a point where you begin really respecting the history."
The building at 1 Fremont St. opened as the Hotel Nevada in 1906, well before gambling was legal. Room and board was $1 a day. Its electric lighting, ventilation and steam-heat radiators made the hotel "first-class," according to a newspaper report at the time.
It had several names and expansions through the years, including Sal Sagev, Las Vegas spelled backward, starting in 1951, when gambling was legalized. It became the Golden Gate in 1955.
"One of the things that I was always really enamored with was the fact that the history here was so great at Golden Gate," Stevens said. "So I wanted to make sure that when we expanded and renovated we also were very delicate with regards to the history of the Golden Gate."
Guests can still stay in 10 of the hotel's original rooms, which include passes to the Mob Museum just blocks away.
The Golden Gate as it looked in 1906, when it was the Hotel Nevada. Room and board was $1, and gambling was illegal at the time.
"For a lot of people, it's pretty cool to come in to see what a hotel room was like back 115 years ago," Stevens said. "Ceiling heights were a little bit lower, showerheads were a little bit lower -- people were a little bit smaller. So it gives you a perspective of what it was like."
The lobby displays artifacts such as a 1907 hotel registration book; a replica of the city's first phone, which was installed at the hotel; old gaming-debt ledgers; and bottles of alcohol hidden in the walls during Prohibition that were found during renovation. There are also reminders in the bar of where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. once stood at the height of the Rat Pack era.
Another long-time feature that has been preserved is what has become known as the "rocker sign," an exterior vertical display in which the letters spelling out Golden Gate rock back and forth. "We really wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything that inhibited the view of the sign," Stevens said.
Today, the Golden Gate houses 106 rooms, 14 suites and two penthouses; has a 5,000-square-foot casino floor with a 360-degree, 24-foot television and gaming "fountain"; one of the longest bars (about 38 feet) in Las Vegas; and a lavish entryway with 500-pound golden velvet drapes. The hotel also is home to the original Circa Sportsbook, Stevens' sports betting venture.
Stevens, who also owns the D and the new Circa Resort & Casino, says he is proud of his role in downtown Las Vegas' renaissance.
"I love Las Vegas as a whole. I love downtown Las Vegas. " Stevens said. "We're just a part of it. There's been so much investment that has gone on around Fremont Street and whatnot that I just think it's pretty cool to see new businesses and new residents move in, and being been part of that whole resurgence is pretty cool."