Slow but steady progress is being made on the casino expansion at downtown’s Fremont hotel, so we figured it was time for an update.

Boyd Gaming, owner of the Fremont casino, is investing $50 million in this expansion, which will include new entrances to the casino, a lot more casino floor space and a food court.

Here’s a look inside what will be an entirely new part of the Fremont casino. This is the view from Pizza Rock, which makes us drool just typing the words “Pizza Rock.”

Unless Fremont’s going with a “contemporary duct” interior design, we suspect the new casino area won’t look like this when it opens in December.

The construction encompasses the footprint of the former buffet, so it won’t be coming back.

Naturally, we broke the news about which restaurants will be coming to Fremont’s new food hall, including Steak ‘n Shake, Huey Magoo’s and Roli Roti.

What else do we have to do other than break news? It’s not like we have a life. Reminder: Blogging is a lot less expensive than therapy.

Yes, there will be a new sports book, despite our best efforts.

Word is Boyd has instructed its construction company to get the expansion open by Christmas of 2022, to take advantage of the influx of visitors around New Year’s Eve.

Here’s another shot at the work in progress at Fremont, including a new entrance.

This won’t be the busiest entrance at the Fremont, but it’ll be great to have the option of walking inside rather than being outside. Outside is gross.

Beyond the construction at Fremont casino, there’s a lot of work to be done on the 3rd Street walkway. Between Ogden and Fremont.

The City of Las Vegas is in charge of this portion of the project, at a cost of $4.5 million. The completion target date for this element of the improvements is April 2023. But most of the work should be done by New Year’s Eve.

Here’s a rendering, again from the perspective of Pizza Rock looking south (toward the Fremont Street Experience canopy). Mostly because we have difficulty not thinking about Pizza Rock. Especially after we had the personal-sized cheese pizza for happy hour yesterday.

Apparently, downtown will have its very own aurora borealis soon!

We trust Downtown Grand and its neighbors (like Pizza Rock, Triple George, and the Mob Museum) are anxious to get the work finished. as guests are now forced down a narrow walkway.

Construction fencing also obscures Downtown Grand from all the foot traffic on Fremont.

In the jargon of civil engineers (and the owners of Downtown Grand, we trust), this is “sub-optimal.”

This construction project is a big deal for Fremont casino and Boyd Gaming.

We’ve heard there have been some cost overruns, and Boyd apparently had to light a fire under the construction company to move along the construction timeline. But we don’t care all that much about the drama. We just like the smell of a fresh casino carpet and new games to play, and new food offerings.

So, let’s go, Fremont.