Downtown Las Vegas' 'gay neighborhood' combines Strip and Fremont
Las Vegas real estate developers and nightlife promoters working to create a community dedicated to all things LGBTQ+ say they are getting closer to their goal.
Earlier this month, Queen opened a boutique hotel in Las Vegas with a small restaurant and gaming lounge at the Thunderbird Hotel, about half a mile north of the Las Vegas Strip, Located at 1215 South Las Vegas Blvd. The Queen Hotel - dubbed "the gayest destination on the Strip" even though locals don't typically think of the Sahara or the Strip - are among two gay-themed hotels scheduled to open this year The first of its kind hotels.
The Queen opened her restaurant and nightclub this month. The brand's 28 rooms are expected to be occupied this fall.
The Bent Inn expected to open in October will be located at 207 N. 11th St., just steps away from the Fremont Street Experience. The Bent Inn, which claims to be the "only LGBTQ-owned and operated boutique hotel in Las Vegas," will feature 33 "interestingly designed" rooms.
The adults-only Bent Inn may not be close to the Queen, but developers hope the two properties represent the start of a movement to make Las Vegas more attractive and inclusive to the gay community.
“The hotels in Las Vegas do a great job creating a welcoming environment for everyone,” said Greg Kafka, who developed the Bent Inn with life and business partner said Mark Hunter of.“Guests cannot always rely on other guests to be equally hospitable.”
"That's what drives our experience. The other guests you share the pool with are looking for something specific, and that's what we promote," Hunter explained to Las Vegas Weekly.
Gay Community Destination
Behind Project Queen is Eduardo Cordova, well-known in Southern Nevada as a major nightlife promoter of LGBTQ+ events and Seduction Sunday in Luxor. Cordoba said he doesn't own the Thunderbird, but the Queen component at the hotel could serve as a proving ground.
“The space we started with was a pilot project to launch this new brand,” Cordova said. "If all goes well, we will discuss converting the hotel to the Las Vegas Queen brand."
Córdoba’s dream did not end with the Queen. He believes there is a market for creating the first "gay district" in Las Vegas to allow the LGBTQ+ community to express themselves.
Cordova wanted the area to be close to everything Las Vegas has to offer while providing a haven for people. He believed the Queen's position provided the perfect environment to achieve these parameters.
LGBTQ+ NUMBERS
The UCLA Williams Institute think tank estimates that 82,000 people in Las Vegas identify as LBGTQ. That’s about 5% of the metro area’s population, making Las Vegas one of the 10 metro areas with the highest LGBTQ+ rates in the United States.
Las Vegas is also not far from Los Angeles, which has the largest LGBTQ+ population after New York City, with over 523,000 members.
Las Vegas is also popular for same-sex weddings, which have been legal in Nevada since 2014. In 2020, Nevada became the first state to recognize same-sex marriage in its state constitution.
The change was brought about through a national referendum called Gender-neutral Marriage. The vote changed Nevada's constitution from defining marriage as between "one man and one woman" to recognizing "marriage between husband and wife, regardless of sex."
More than 62% of Nevada voters supported the 2020 same-sex marriage referendum.
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Source: www.casino.org
