Snake your way through the games and head for Du-Par’s, the 24-hour diner famous for its pillowy pancakes and ample selection of pies.

While the property has been renovated in the intervening years, it’s still a glimpse of the city’s past, with low ceilings and packed rows of slots. This historic casino hotel bookending the Fremont Street Experience dates to 1906, just after the city of Las Vegas was established with a population of around 800 people. Grab a seat at the chef’s counter and an order of bacon jam with baked brie, and take in this delicious example of Downtown development. Housed in the former John E Carson Hotel, a vintage Vegas venue that opened in 1955, the restaurant draws a schmoozy local crowd with creative comfort food and potent cocktails. But the two-level neighborhood eatery is representative of Downtown Las Vegas’ recent rejuvenation, funded largely by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and his investment group the Downtown Project. Sure, this hip gastropub from famed chef Kerry Simon isn’t an old-school haunt - in fact, it’s only been around about a year.

For a truly illuminating experience, book a nighttime tour and bask in the glow of the Boneyard’s restored signs. Guides trace the story of Las Vegas through the Boneyard’s collection of hulking glass-and-metal marquees from properties like the Stardust, Sassy Sally’s, and the Sahara, offering an entertaining history lesson full of local lore. While Las Vegas is famous for its implosions, the revered signs from many iconic casinos and businesses have been saved thanks to this nonprofit and its landmark Neon Boneyard.

There’s still caesar salad made table-side, juicy cuts of prime beef, flaming sweets like bananas foster, and the priceless knowledge that you’re digging in where gangsters like Tony Spilotro, superstars like Elvis, and greats like Muhammad Ali have dined. At the Golden Steer, which opened in 1958, much of that era remains. With its wood-paneled walls, deep banquettes, and tuxedoed waitstaff - some of whom have been working the floor for more than 40 years - stepping into this Sahara Avenue steakhouse is a bit like visiting the Las Vegas people reminisce about, when women wore gowns to the blackjack tables and Frank Sinatra crooned nightly. Here’s your guide to finding authentic spots - some untouched, some reimagined - that evoke an old-school hipness in today’s Las Vegas.

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