Casinos

In celebration of International Clown Week, the first week in August, from our collections, we have a 1966 film clip of the George Moro dancers at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in 1966. This features slapstick circus clowns performing to the music from the prior year’s hit ‘Everyone Loves a Clown’ by Gary Lewis […]

Las Vegas Tourist Map – 1947
Las Vegas Tourist Map from 1947

The hot summer weather of southern Nevada always makes us want to take a road trip! This Las Vegas Fun Tour Map from 1947 was created to show tourists all the fun things to do in town, although we aren’t […]

On November 25, 1920 the Anderson Airfield opened located near where the Sahara Hotel and Casino parking lot is today. It was the first airport to service Las Vegas. It had an ‘L’ shaped runway that allowed pilots to land according to different wind directions and was designed and operated by Robert Hausler, an […]

On November 22, 1989, the Mirage Hotel and Casino opened its doors. The Mirage was the first new resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip for more than 15 years, the last opening being the MGM Grand. When it opened, the $630 million Mirage was the largest hotel in the world with […]

On November 7th 1941 the El Cortez Hotel and Casino opened it doors. It promoted itself as “The new Uptown Hotel in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas,” and the city’s largest and most fashionable resort, playing a vital role in the economic development of Fremont Street. Originally constructed for $325,000, the Spanish Ranch […]

On November 3rd 2016, singer and dancer Kay Starr passed away. An occasional performer at the Las Vegas Strip

casinos, Kay also sang at Harry S. Truman’s presidential inauguration in 1945. She went on to achieve gold with her signature song ‘Wheel of Fortune’. Kay could tackle […]

#OnThisDay in 1966 Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino opened with a lavish launch party that reportedly cost $1,000,000!

At the time Caesars Palace was the largest hotel ever built as a single unified project in Nevada.  It had 700 rooms across 14 crescent-shaped floors, although some […]

On June 2nd 1966 the Four Queens Hotel & Casino opened on Fremont Street, downtown Las Vegas. The casino was named after the four daughters of the founder and president Ben Goffstein. In turn, they were named after a queen from a pack of cards: Michele (the eldest) was the Queen of Spades, Benita […]

On 24 May 1955 the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino opened.  It was located at at 900, Bonanza Road on the west side of Las Vegas; becoming what the promoters called “the nation’s first major interracial hotel”.

Opening to standing-room only mixed crowds, the night stage show included the stage show an all African American […]

On 23 May 1955 the Dunes Hotel and Casino opened – the 10th resort on the Strip, and Las Vegas was booming! Two other casinos had opened in the previous month, the Riviera and Royal Nevada, and the off-Strip Moulin Rouge was planned for the following day.
The Dunes was themed on the stories of […]