Your Daily Guide

‼️ Vegas Golden Knights Sweep Colorado Avalanche

The Knights won the Western Conference Finals and will face the Carolina Hurricanes or Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals. Tickets for home games for the series are starting at $876. [USA Today]

🚦 Time to Panic Over Traffic Cameras?

Las Vegas approved a one-year traffic camera pilot program at a dozen locations throughout the city. Unlike Flock cameras, used by police to track vehicles, officials swear the new ones won’t record or store data — and will only be used to make safety improvements. [KSNV]

• Should we trust this? 🤔 City Cast Las Vegas takes a closer look at the program in today’s news roundup, along with a crackdown on homeless encampments on Boulder Highway and if Clark County school officials deserve a passing grade now that another year is over. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

💀 Skull Found Near Pahrump

You’re not surprised, are you? It was discovered by hikers in the Shadow Mountain area. Police are now trying to determine the identity. [KLAS]

🏜️ Lake Mead: The Deadliest National Park Site

Deaths at recreation sites operated by the National Park Service were up last year with more than 200 incidents reported. Despite being a pretty chill place, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area actually saw 18 deaths — more than any other parks in the study. Death Valley and Zion ranked high as well. [The Hill]

• In brighter news for Lake Mead, Hoover Dam is now illuminated in red, white, and blue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. [KVVU]

🗳️Tariffs to Play a Role in Nevada Congressional Races

Expect to hear a lot about tariffs this campaign season, especially in Las Vegas, where Democrats are blaming President Trump’s economic policies for a drop in Canadian tourism. That includes Rep. Susie Lee (D), whose district is seen as the most flippable for Republicans in Nevada. [Politico]

• Eight Democrats are vying to replace outgoing Congressman Mark Amodei, whose Northern Nevada district has always voted Republican. [Nevada Independent]
• Early primary voting is underway throughout Nevada. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
• Any thoughts on the primary election season? Email us! 📬

The Vanderpump Hotel quietly opened this week with an official grand opening celebration planned for June. The resort, which has a prime Strip location on the corner of Flamingo Road, has shifted identities over the years, beginning more than 47 years ago as the Barbary Coast.

🛎️ A New Kind of Hotel

Michael Gaughan opened the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino on March 2, 1979, taking over a four-acre lot originally home to the Desert Villa motor lodge, which first welcomed guests in 1952. The name evolved to Empey’s Desert Villa and the Times Square Motel before closing.

The Barbary Coast cost $11.5 million (or nearly $53 million in today’s dollars) to build from the ground up, allowing Gaughan to establish his own identity as a casino operator. He followed the advice of his father, legendary Vegas magnate Jackie Gaughan, who believed in the power of operating on corner lots.

🎰 Rough Start to an Impressive Legacy

Other Strip properties, including the Flamingo and Caesars Palace, fought it, complaining the new resort would generate too much traffic for the intersection, but Gaughan was able to win approval by the Clark County Commission. A year later, the Barbary Coast would temporarily close to assist survivors of the deadly MGM Grand hotel fire across the street.

Looking back, the Barbary Coast was a bridge between the eras of the motor lodge and the megaresort, making an impression with Victorian decor and stained-glass murals. The cylindrical neon marquee on the southwest corner of the hotel became closely associated with the Strip itself — and the font for the name would eventually become known as “Barbary Coast block.” With less than 200 rooms and a relatively small casino floor, Michael’s Gourmet Room and Drai’s (a restaurant that evolved into a late-night party spot) helped draw visitors.

⌛ An Evolution of Identities

Gaughan sold the Barbary Coast to Boyd Gaming, which renamed the resort Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon. Eventually, the property landed in the hands of Caesars Entertainment. Plans to rebrand the property as a Gansevoort hotel fizzled out (over questions about Russian mob ties) before it was revamped as the Cromwell, mixing luxury with vintage Parisian aesthetics and moving Drai’s upstairs next to a new rooftop pool.

The names and identities keep changing, but the bones of the property are pretty much in place at the new Vanderpump Hotel. If you want to relive the history of the Barbary Coast today, a portion of the marquee is on display at the Neon Museum and decor from the original Michael’s Gourmet Room, including a stained-glass door and marble floor, is now part of a second version at Michael Gaughan's South Point casino.