Staffing challenges have nixed another beloved fixture on Fremont Street: The free slot pulls at Binion’s and Four Queens.

The free slot pulls, at strategic entrances to Binion’s and Four Queens (both owned by Terry Caudill’s TLC Casino Enterprises), were throwback marketing techniques to get bodies off of Fremont Street and into these iconic downtown casinos.

Guests got a shot at $2,500. And, yes, people actually won occasionally.

Tourists were drawn to the free slot pulls at Binion’s and Four Queens like piranha to filet mignon.

Guests who didn’t get the big prize would get a sheet of coupons for venues inside the casino.

Something about these free slot pulls just encapsulated the spirit of Fremont Street, and although we knew their purpose, even we gave them a spin from time to time and magically found ourselves inside playing our favorite slot machines for real money.

Casino officials say the free spin machines were, well, pulled due to ongoing staffing challenges.

Staffing is also to blame for the removal of the million dollar photo op at Binion’s, another tried-and-true way to attract visitors from Fremont Street and keep them in the casino as they waited for their free photo to be printed.

Every Web site had to update their “Free Things To Do in Las Vegas” list after the million dollar display at Binion’s went away.

It’s unknown if the photo op or free slot pulls will be back.

And, yes, in case you wondered, the million dollar display actually had a million dollars in cash (exactly), according to Tim Lager, Senior Director of Operations at Binion’s and Four Queens.

The staffing problem doesn’t end there, unfortunately.

It’s also cited as the reason the Top of Binion’s Steakhouse has yet to reopen (it closed in March 2020 during the townwide shutdown), same with Wana Taco at Four Queens.

Staffing is also the reason Binion’s, the original home of the World Series of Poker, doesn’t have a poker room.

The former Binion’s poker room. Yeah, we should probably stop sharing these photos. We get a little weepy about paused Las Vegas institutions.

Four Queens recently closed its keno lounge and we trust staffing was a factor in that decision as well.

The hope, of course, is some of these offerings will return.

If we don’t have a Wana Taco hot dog soon, something is going to burst.

Oh, how we miss you, drunchies stand.

Big thanks to Patrick M. of the Vegas Downtown Report Facebook group for tipping us off to the removal of the free slot pulls at Binion’s and Four Queens.

If you love Vegas, you really didn’t need a free slot pull to get you into Binion’s or Four Queens. They’re old-school casinos with unique atmospheres and some of the most friendly and colorful staffers around. Some have worked at Binion’s and Four Queens since the days when Benny Binion was ruling the roost from his “office” in the casino’s downstairs cafe.

If you want to read more about Benny Binion, we highly recommend “Blood Aces” by Doug J. Swanson. Let’s get that movie made, already.

Oh, and one word of warning: If you see a free slot pull on Fremont Street, head in the other direction. Those aren’t hosted by highly-regulated casinos, they’re lures used by timeshare tricksters.