Dino's Lounge

Dino's calls itself the Last Neighborhood Bar in Las Vegas, and the claim holds up: open since 1962, still run by the founding Bartolomucci family, still 24 hours, still cash only, still pouring some of the cheapest honest drinks within sight of the Strip. It sits on the unglamorous Gateway District stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard - close enough to walk from downtown, far enough that only people who mean it do.

The institution within the institution is karaoke: Thursday through Saturday from 10pm, hosted for over 25 years by Danny G, routinely rated the best karaoke night in the city - free, packed, and zero-irony. The rest of the culture is house-made: patron-painted ceiling tiles rotated monthly, a staff-voted Drunk of the Month (winner gets a commemorative shirt and a reserved parking spot), pool at fifty cents a game, and graveyard specials Sunday-Wednesday from midnight to 8am - $7 PBR pitchers, $4 Jameson.

It's a true dive with the full spec sheet: cash only, indoor smoke, worn everything, no kitchen. That's not a bug list, it's the product description. If you want one bar that explains what Vegas locals' nightlife was before mixology arrived, this is the field trip.