12 Memories in Honor of the Return of O’Sheas

It’s official. The new incarnation of a beloved Strip landmark, O’Sheas, will open Dec. 27, 2013 at The Linq.

The new O’Sheas has an uphill climb ahead. Comparisons between the old and new O’Sheas are inevitable, and pretty much everyone agrees the new O’Sheas will be a dramatic departure from the one Las Vegas visitors grew to love (or loathe).

O'Sheas Las Vegas
We might not get the original O’Sheas back, but we’ll take whatever we can get.

The former O’Sheas was gritty and loud. The new O’Sheas, sandwiched between The Quad and The Linq, a dining and entertainment promenade opening soon, is likely to be less of those things.

Other than a couple of aspects making the transition from old to new, like the return of Lucky the Leprechaun and a recycled O’Sheas sign, it’s probably a misnomer to even call it O’Sheas. But they had to call the new bar something.

Here are 12 O’Sheas memories in honor of the Dec. 27 opening of the new O’Sheas Bar and Perfunctory Beer Pong Experience at The Linq.

1. The Original Sign

The original O’Sheas sign (below) has been refurbished for the new O’Sheas, losing the leprechaun and gaining a shamrock on top.

O'Sheas
One anagram for O’Sheas is “ass hoe.” Unrelated to anything.

2. Beer Pong

The day the O’Sheas beer pong pavilion closed, there was a disturbance in The Force. Sorry, The Foam. Beer pong will be back, but not like that. Beer pong players aren’t necessarily big gamblers, and gambling’s what decides how much floor space a pursuit gets in Vegas.

O'Sheas
Less beer means less sticky, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

3. Cheap Shots

In its heyday, O’Sheas was the cheap hooch headquarters of The Strip.

O'Sheas sign
Judging from the cocktail prices at the nearby Catalyst Bar in The Quad, the times, they are a’changin’.

4. Free Shots

What could be better than cheap shots? How about free shots? Yes, Lucky the Leprechaun (real name, Brian Thomas) will be back, and there’s some hope he’ll keep the free shots of rot-gut coming, but again, we expect the days of it raining free shots at O’Sheas are a thing of the past.

Lucky at O'Sheas
Lucky will be back! The lawyers have been alerted.

5. Vince Neil Ink

Many a Las Vegas visitor got their tattoos at O’Sheas, and several even remember having gotten them.

Tattoo sign
We hope this gorgeous neon sign found a forever home somewhere.

6. Shadow Dancers

These projections were an often-overlooked feature of the O’Sheas exterior. We proposed marriage to at least three of them.

O'Shea's shadow dancers
Formerly one of our favorite free shows on The Strip.

7. Insane White Guy

O’Sheas was home to a taco shop with one of the most racist names in North America, and darned proud of it, too.

El Gringo Loco O'Sheas
Hangover grub, par excellence.

8. St. Paddy’s Day Block Parties

They were simply epic, and feared by livers everywhere.

O'Sheas St. Paddy's Day
St. Patrick’s Day in Irish is “Lá Fhéile Pádraig,” mostly because writing photo captions is hard.

9. Holly Madison

Holly Madison’s annual beer pong matches with Lucky were two of our favorite things about O’Sheas.

Holly Madison
This was from before Holly Madison had a baby and her boobs got real big.

10. “Freaks”

The O’Sheas Theater was home to a slew of quirky shows. Luke Jermay, a “mentalist,” performed there, as did magician Dirk Arthur and the Viper Vixens (scantily-clad women performing martial arts). But “Freaks” was off-the-chart weird, and The Strip has yet to recapture that “Freaks” WTF.

O'Sheas Freaks
When “Freaks” closed, this guy got screwed.

11. Last Chip Standing

Toward the end, O’Sheas issued a collectible chip highlighting the casino’s run from 1989 to 2012. We look at our chip when we want to purge our tear ducts. And, no, that’s not a euphemism for anything.

O'Sheas chip
You got one, right?

12. Last Call

The day O’Sheas closed was a rough one. Fans of the casino came from far and wide to have a last shot and bid farewell to a true Vegas classic. The last spin of the roulette wheel in O’Sheas landed on 31, black. Lucky got about a thousand hugs, and O’Sheas was no more.

Lucky at O'Sheas
Yes, people get emotionally attached to casinos. Don’t judge.

The new O’Sheas will have some big shoes to fill when it re-opens at The Linq on Dec. 27, 2013.

We’ll be there. Drinking. Remembering. Pining. We hope to see you there.