Haunted Old West Bar
Experience the 'haunted' Pioneer Saloon near Las Vegas: Old West charm and pop culture appeal
Anonymous
Tucked in the Mojave Desert about 35 miles south of Las Vegas, the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, Nevada, has been pouring drinks since 1913. Built from stamped tin ordered out of a Sears Roebuck catalog, it is one of the last structures of its kind still standing in the United States, according to Travel Nevada.
Today the saloon draws everyone from bikers to video game fans to ghost hunters. It serves a quarter-pound Poltergeist Burger with ghost chili sauce. It has bullet holes in the walls. And it sits at the center of a strange collision between Old West history, Old Hollywood tragedy, and a post-apocalyptic video game set in the year 2281.
A Poker Game Murder Left Bullet Holes in the Walls
On June 27, 1915, a miner named Paul Coski was shot and killed inside the Pioneer Saloon. Owner Joe Armstrong fired the fatal shots after catching Coski cheating at poker. Three bullet holes remain in the tin walls to this day, according to HubPages.
Those holes are not the only scars on the building. The bar top is marked with cigarette burns said to have been left by actor Clark Gable. In January 1942, TWA Flight 3 crashed into nearby Mount Potosi, killing all 22 people aboard — including Gable's wife, actress Carole Lombard. Gable waited at the saloon for three days while search parties combed the mountain, according to Travel Nevada. The bar now keeps a dedicated Carole Lombard Memorial Room.
Ghost Tours and Paranormal Fame Fuel Modern Business
The saloon's
Fallout Fans Turn a Desert Bar Into a Pilgrimage Site
In 2010, the video game Fallout: New Vegas launched with Goodsprings as its opening location. The game's "Prospector Saloon" is a direct digital copy of the Pioneer. Since then, fans have treated the real bar as sacred ground — showing up in costume as characters from the game and signing an annual pilgrimage logbook kept at the bar, according to UNLV OAsis.
The fan base has only grown. In November 2025, the 4th annual Fallout Fan Celebration drew a record 6,000 attendees to the tiny town of Goodsprings, which has a population of just 229 people, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal. Tickets for the 2026 event, now called Mojave Mayhem, run between $45 and $90. Researchers at UNLV describe the Pioneer as a case study in how a video game can save a dying rural economy.
A Town Booming and Shrinking at the Same Time
Current owner Stephen Staats — known publicly as "Old Man Liver" — bought the saloon in 2021 and has leaned into both its history and its gaming fame. He introduced custom whiskeys and ghost-themed menu items. He has said the Fallout connection is now "an inseparable part" of the building's 111-year history and helped the bar survive the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Las Vegas Sun.
But the town around the saloon tells a different story. In April 2026, Clark County School District considered closing Goodsprings Elementary — the town's oldest schoolhouse — because enrollment had dropped to just one student, according to Las Vegas Sun. The Pioneer Saloon is booming. The community it serves is nearly gone.
Sentiment
NeutralNEGATIVENEUTRALPOSITIVE
Publishers
7
Articles
7
Reach
7
A
AnonymousAuthor
