The Western, Skyscraper and casino in Las Vegas, US

The Western is a closed hotel-casino on a downtown Las Vegas block, its hotel portion demolished in 2013 while the casino portion still stands. The surviving building is a tall, dark, rectangular structure with a gray-brown facade of closely spaced horizontal window rows and a flat roofline carrying a thin vertical mast near the left side. In front, a pole holds signs reading "WESTERN HOTEL", "BINGO" and "CASINO" with "CASH PAYCHECK HERE" and "WIN UP TO $500 CASH".

The Western opened in 1970 as part of a major wave of casino and hotel construction that reshaped Las Vegas during that decade. This period marked a shift toward larger, integrated structures that combined gaming facilities and overnight accommodations.

The Western opened in 1970 as the Western Hotel & Bingo Parlor, a joint venture of Jackie Gaughan and Mel Exber, and its bingo hall seated 1,020 people, the largest in the world at the time. It was the lowest rung of Gaughan's low-roller casino empire, alongside the Las Vegas Club, The Plaza, the Gold Spike and El Cortez. The casino closed in January 2012; the hotel portion was demolished in 2013.

The Western stands on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, and its casino closed on January 16, 2012, so there is no gaming floor to visit. The hotel wing was demolished in 2013; only the casino block remains, with the WESTERN HOTEL, BINGO and CASINO signs still mounted on the pole in front. Treat it as an exterior landmark seen on foot.

At its 1970 opening the Western held the world's largest bingo parlor, with 1,020 seats. The casino floor covered 8,925 sq ft and was run by Barrick Gaming before the Tamares Group took control through a lease in 2005. The hotel tower was demolished in 2013; the casino block still stands.