Downtown caters to locals on St. Patrick’s Day

By Kyle B. Hansen

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | 11:23 p.m.

The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas took a new approach this year in attracting visitors for St. Patrick’s Day: going after the locals.

“St. Patrick’s Day is great everywhere,” Fremont Street Experience President Jeff Victor said, “So we had to do better than that.”

In addition to having Irish music on three (instead of the usual two) stages on the street -- plus lots of green beer available -- Victor organized a pub crawl aimed directly at Las Vegas residents.

“We already have a large contingency of visitors down here,” Victor said. “This is a locals effort.”

The Experience partnered with a local Web site to spread the word about the free event and to have participants RSVP online.

Those who signed up in advance got free parking and a wristband for pub crawl specials from 5 p.m. to midnight.

The wristband got the bearer free admission to four parties inside Fremont Street properties, drink specials at seven bars and access to a VIP viewing area for the live bands.

“Our pub crawl is special in that we don’t prescribe where you have to be at any one time. We provide a menu of all the places that will honor the wristbands,” Victor said. “Customers can choose their own paths on their own schedules.”

Victor said about 2,000 people signed up for the event online, while about 20,000 people were expected to visit Fremont Street on St. Patrick’s Day.

The bad economy was one reason why some people were drawn to the event.

Melinda Greenberg grew up downtown and attended Las Vegas Academy. She said her friends are always on the lookout for free things to do.

“The economy sucks, but here they have all these free specials,” she said.

Greenberg also liked that the information was available online, which is how her group of friends usually finds things to do.

“It’s hard to find specific things to do. We hang out downtown anyway,” Greenberg said. “It’s a good starting point for everything.”

While at the Fremont Street Experience on Tuesday, Las Vegas resident Justin Howard said he has noticed how the downtown area has improved in recent years.

“We have seen it evolve,” he said. “Growing up in the city, I really appreciate how much downtown has revitalized. It gives me a lot of pride.”

But downtown wasn’t just for locals.

Fremont Street remains a draw for tourists. Tammara and Curtis Hastings, of the Reno area, were in Las Vegas for the weekend.

The couple decided to extend their trip for a few days to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day festivities and stayed one night at the Plaza Hotel so they could come to Fremont Street.

“It’s like New Orleans,” Tammara Hastings said. “It’s pretty good.”

“It has that Bourbon Street feel,” her husband added. “It has a lot of people, a lot of dancing and a lot of music.”

Victor said Fremont Street benefits because it offers a unique experience.

“I’ve worked every gaming market in America,” Victor said. “And there’s no venue that offers the kind of opportunity that we can give to guests (here).”

Victor said Fremont Street throws a party every night, but days like St. Patrick’s Day can still be special for visitors.

“What we’re doing is taking advantage of the holiday,” he said. “We’re creating an added reason for folks to visit and we’re very pleased with the results.”