The Decades-Old Las Vegas Pub That Inspired ‘Mr. Brightside’ Has Closed

Before making it big with the Killers, frontman Brandon Flowers was working as a bellhop at the Gold Coast hotel. One evening, he wandered into the Crown & Anchor Pub near Tropicana Avenue and Maryland Parkway and discovered his girlfriend there with someone else. Thus, his indelible song, “Mr. Brightside,” was born. That relic of Las Vegas history, the nearly 30-year-old, British-style pub, closed for good last week.

The origin story of the song about betrayal and the resulting catharsis is recounted in the Independent UK by the author of the biography The Killers: Days & Ages. After stumbling upon his girlfriend inside the bar, Flowers collaborated with guitarist Dave Keuning to pen the line, “I just can’t look, it’s killing me.” The Crown & Anchor Pub (1350 East Tropicana Avenue), opened in 1995 and established a following for its British food and watch parties for soccer games and other English sports.

The full menu offered dishes like sausage rolls and Scotch eggs, Cornish pasties, fish and chips, and sticky toffee pudding. And dishes were served all 24 hours that the bar was open. The Crown & Anchor had about 30 beers on draft, bartop gaming, and hosted rollicking watch parties during the World Cup every year. In an Instagram post, Crown & Anchor stated only that it closed the location on Tuesday, July 2 “in order to consolidate operations.” The location at 4755 West Spring Mountain Road remains open.