Early history (1905 – 1974) John F. Miller was among the first to come to
Las Vegas in 1905. Miller purchased a $1,750 parcel at the southeast corner of
Main Street and
Fremont Street. In August 1905, Miller had plans to construct a permanent two-story hotel structure on the property. In September 1905, the Miller Hotel became the first lodging establishment in Las Vegas to receive plumbing. Miller planned for the hotel to be modern, with amenities that included heating, electricity, and a telephone system. The two-story Hotel Nevada, and the only concrete hotel in
southern Nevada. but historic photographs and later newspaper records show that while the hotel was expanded, it did not have a third story until the early 1930s. In 1907, Las Vegas' first telephone was installed at the Hotel Nevada, with the number 1. The hotel's casino operated until 1909, when gambling was banned in Nevada. The casino's blackjack and poker tables were subsequently put into storage. The hotel gained additional popularity beginning in 1925, when city officials had Fremont Street paved. In 1931, the property was expanded to three and four stories and 106 rooms and in early 1932 was renamed Sal Sagev (Las Vegas spelled backwards), with a Hotel Sal Sagev neon sign added to the building. nearly all of them from
Oakland, California. The eight men planned to open the 9,500-square-foot while the hotel retained the Sal Sagev name. Italo Ghelfi, one of the casino's 22 original partners, operated the casino for nearly 40 years. Abe Miller continued to operate the Sal Sagev into the 1960s. In 1964, the hotel was expanded to include a total of 106 rooms. As of 1969, Abe Miller operated the property with his sister, Ghelfi's family purchased the property from the partnership in 1990, and removed the metal-screen façade that had earlier been applied to the structure. The 106-room, four-story hotel was renovated in 2005. By that time, the property was managed by Ghelfi's step-son, Mark Brandenburg. later became the owner. In March 2008, Brandenberg sold a 50% interest in the property to Desert Rock Enterprises, the investment company of
Derek and Greg Stevens, who also owned the
Las Vegas 51s baseball team and a 19% stake in the
Riviera casino. With new money infused by the Stevens, the Golden Gate undertook casino upgrades and hotel room renovations. The following year, the Stevens raised their stake to 60%, and Derek took over as CEO, with Brandenburg as president. Du-par's operated as a leased tenant of the Golden Gate. Greg and Derek Stevens became full owners of Golden Gate in 2016. On February 7, 2017, the Du-par's restaurant closed due to financial reasons, as it had been struggling with lease payments. It was owned by Biff Naylor, son of one of Golden Gate's original owners,
Tiny Naylor. That month, construction began on an expansion to the Golden Gate's casino. The expansion would take Golden Gate's footprint into the space formerly occupied by the
La Bayou casino. The Golden Gate closed around 2:00 a.m. on August 21, 2017, to allow for the multimillion-dollar renovation project, which had been planned for eight months. The project doubled the casino size and added 100 new slot machines. The project also added a new casino entrance, and extended the outdoor OneBar by 20 feet. The renovations occurred at the site of the former La Bayou as well as an alley that once separated the two casinos. The Golden Gate reopened 106 hours later, at 12:00 p.m. on August 25, 2017. The casino contains of space. A
sportsbook was added on June 1, 2019. It is operated by Derek Stevens' company,
Circa Sports. In October 2025, the Golden Gate became the first casino in downtown Las Vegas to eliminate human dealers, switching to all electronic games. ==Shrimp cocktail==