Fremont Street Experience
The Experience was originally the name for the 1,450-foot arched canopy that was built 90 feet above "Glitter Gulch," downtown's main drag, to revive its sadly fading epicenter. The plan worked, slowly but spectacularly—now the whole street is an "experience." The Viva Vision synchronized light shows, which run the length of the canopy, got a $32-million makeover in 2019 and now sparkle with LED lights (officially touted as "16.4 million brilliant pixels") to create displays that are seven times brighter and four times sharper than previous versions. The brief shows are themed, such as the salutes to homegrown rockers The Killers and Las Vegas–based music producer Steve Aoki. They play five to seven times a night, depending on the time of year, and the six-minute presentations change regularly.
The upgrades to the overhead show were necessary to keep up with the carnival atmosphere on the street. Costumed characters and street performers vie for attention with the live bands playing on two stages, and outdoor bars now line the fronts of the historic casinos, the bar tops doubling as stages for dancing showgirls. Thrill-seekers can ride one of two zip lines beneath the length of the canopy; the zips emerge from the face of the world's largest slot machine, appropriately dubbed SlotZilla.
