Golden Gate Hotel and Casino

Accurately billed as Las Vegas' "Most Historic Hotel," the Golden Gate has stood the test of time and then some.

Since opening as the Hotel Nevada in 1906, this modest and cozy corner establishment has stood placidly at One Fremont Street while the town -- and the world -- changed around it. Most notably, the Fremont Street Experience was built right outside its door. 

Very little has changed to compromise the hotel's old school charm in the intervening years, although the Golden Gate has made improvements and modernized. The hotel remains proudly dwarfed by its neighbors, at just 106 rooms. The rooms themselves, on the other hand, have been updated and include modern amenities like flat screen televisions and iHome clock radios.

The casino is just as active as opening day -- and just as intimate -- although now its boasts Dealer Dancers from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly. Its shrimp cocktail -- widely acknowledged as the first ever served in Las Vegas -- is as popular as the day it was introduced.

Even as Las Vegas builds toward the heavens, the Golden Gate keeps close to the ground, rooted in its rich and wildly successful history.