Mermaids was a small casino at 32 Fremont Street, near First Street, remembered for a tropical frontage, daiquiris and a snack bar serving deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos. It had no hotel or table games in its final years. Its scale and street-facing entrance made it a different kind of stop from the casino hotels around it.
Earlier names at the corner
The corner had a longer gambling history. Pam Goertler’s collector research traces earlier casinos at the address through Silver Palace in 1956, Carousel, Gambler’s Hall of Fame, Sundance West and Sassy Sally’s. Sundance West here was distinct from the Sundance hotel farther east that later became Fitzgeralds and The D. The earlier names do not, by themselves, establish uninterrupted business or building continuity.
From Sassy Sally’s to Mermaids
Goertler dates the change from Sassy Sally’s to Mermaids to 1999 and recalls its promotional photographs during a May 2000 visit. Contemporary reporting independently identifies Herb Pastor’s Mermaids by August 2000. The precise opening day under the new name remains unconfirmed. The Western decoration gave way to an island theme, while staff continued encouraging pedestrians inside.
Renewing the frontage
The frontage kept changing. The city’s fiscal 2012 report records a $60,000 improvement project at Mermaids Casino Bar, supported by a $15,000 matching grant. Repairs, a new LED screen and energy-efficient technology updated a small business beneath the Fremont Street canopy.
The final night and a larger site
Derek and Greg Stevens bought Mermaids, La Bayou and Glitter Gulch in April 2016. Mermaids closed on June 27. Reporting from its final night describes the snack-bar countdown, a last hour of slots and cocktails, and employees saying goodbye. KNPR confirmed the completed closures two days later, when Stevens discussed the possibilities opened by assembling the north-side block. La Bayou, across Fremont, belonged to a different redevelopment site.
Temporary gaming, then demolition
A brief slot-machine session at Mermaids on June 28, 2017 preserved gaming rights ahead of redevelopment. It was not a return to ordinary casino operation. By an August 5 report, the Mermaids building had been demolished. Its land became part of the larger Circa resort, whose casino opened in October 2020. This was replacement by new construction, rather than another change of name on the old casino.
Mermaids is now a historic property. The historical photograph shows its operating frontage in 2011; the approximate map point identifies its former Fremont Street site, not a current entrance or the boundaries of all the earlier casinos at this address.