Casino boom added four new properties to Las Vegas 70 years ago

Seventy years ago, in April and May of 1955, Las Vegas welcomed four new hotel-casinos in a six-week period. This growth proved unsustainable in the short term, but the properties that opened that spring would shape the history of the city throughout the following decades.

In June 1955, Life magazine questioned the viability of this growth with a story titled, “Las Vegas — Is Boom Overextended?” The cover featured dancers from the Moulin Rouge, the first racially integrated hotel-casino in Las Vegas. This was neither the first nor the last time the national print media would question the sustainability of Las Vegas.

The success or failure of these properties came down to common themes in Las Vegas history: Mob financing, big-name entertainment, racial tension and growth potential in a dry, desert city. Although none of these hotels stands today, their legacies continue to reverberate.

The Royal Nevada

The Royal Nevada began the casino grand opening binge on April 19, 1955. It was conceived by Frank Fishman, a hotel operator with properties in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami Beach. In 1954, he contracted architect Paul Revere Williams to design a resort to be built where Resorts World now stands.

Williams had a national reputation as a modern architect in high demand. Williams, the first African American admitted to the American Institute of Architects, played a significant role in Las Vegas. His work and reputation brought him to Southern Nevada in 1941 to design the Carver Park housing development for Black employees of the Basic Magnesium plant in Henderson.

After designing the Royal Nevada, he designed the short-lived Las Vegas Park Jockey Club, the La Concha Motel lobby and the Guardian Angel Cathedral, which still stands in its original location.

Although Fishman had experience with hotels, issues with the project quickly became apparent. In February 1955, the Nevada State Tax Commission labeled him “undesirable” to hold a gaming license. Other investors stepped up and bought him out of his project, and the Royal Nevada received approval without Fishman.

The hotel also foretold the economic problems that would plague all the properties built in 1955. In March, a construction subcontractor filed a $445,709 civil suit charging breach of contract against Fishman and Hahn Construction. On April 24, five days after opening, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported a nearly $325,000 lien against the builders.

The Royal Nevada seemed to struggle to pull off what other resorts had. In ads, the Royal Nevada calls itself “The Showplace of Showtown, U.S.A.” Early performing acts included opera singer Helen Traubel and actor Dave Barry. Although these performers had good name recognition in the 1950s, they pale in comparison with some of the acts that other hotel-casinos at the time were booking, such as Louie Prima, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. While Traubel warbled at the Royal Nevada, TV star and rising Las Vegas icon Liberace tickled the ivories at the Riviera.

On December 31, 1955, the Royal Nevada shut its doors due to mounting debts. Royal Nevada employees agreed to forgo payroll earlier that month in the hopes that the holiday season would pick up, but a Christmas and New Year’s boost did not materialize.

Jake Kozloff, then affiliated with the New Frontier, leased the property in early 1956, and the hotel — though not the casino — reopened in February. By June, the resort’s operations had been taken over entirely by the New Frontier, but the casino would not open again until February 1957.

In November 1957, the Nevada Gaming Control Board dealt a death blow when it filed an eight-count complaint against the property alleging dealer cheating and improper financing and licensing. On May 5, 1958, the IRS shut down the Royal Nevada, and the Stardust acquired some of the property’s original footprint.

The Riviera

On April 20, 1955, the Riviera celebrated its grand opening, one day after the Royal Nevada. Its nine-story tower made it the tallest hotel on the Strip and the first high-rise resort. It overshadowed the Royal Nevada in every sense of the word.

Famous pianist Liberace, who was not yet known for his flamboyant bejeweled stage costumes, performed at the Riviera’s grand opening. He featured prominently in the opening ceremonies and received $50,000 a week for his performances. Before the Riviera, Liberace had almost no connection to Las Vegas. He performed at the Hotel Last Frontier in 1944, but the show had little immediate impact on his career. By 1955, Liberace had become a household name thanks to his television show, leading to the widely heralded appearance at the Riviera’s grand opening.

Although the Riviera arguably became the most successful of the properties built in 1955 — operating until it closed in May 2015 — it faced the same issues as the Royal Nevada during the development and construction phases.

The property that would become the Riviera, originally called the Casa Blanca, was first purchased in late 1952 by a group of investors led by Miami Beach gambler Willie Bischoff. Because of Bischoff’s known connection with illegal gambling rackets, the Casa Blanca failed to materialize.

The Nevada Tax Commission finally granted the property a license in September 1953, once Bischoff left the project. The investors publicly included coin-op manufacturers David and Meyer Gensburg, Harpo and Gummo Marx, Miami restaurateur Jack Goldman, Southern California bingo parlor owner Harry Robbin and Miami developer Murray Saul. New York mobster Meyer Lansky and Chicago Outfit boss Tony Accardo were also silent investors in the project.

When the Riviera opened, it owed $1.4 million in construction bills. Bankruptcy loomed over its first few months of operation. But Accardo was not about to lose the Outfit’s first major property in Las Vegas.

Accardo asked mobster Gus Greenbaum, then manager of the Flamingo, to manage the Riviera. Greenbaum refused. He wanted to retire in Phoenix, spend time with his wife, and perhaps avoid the same violent end as his predecessor at the Flamingo, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.

Unfortunately for Greenbaum, Accardo would not let that happen. Greenbaum owed his Mob associates a lot of money. He was a problem gambler and suffered with drug addiction in his final years. When his sister-in-law, Leone Greenbaum, was found dead in April 1955, Gus reluctantly agreed to take control of the Riviera. He brought along fellow known associates Davie Berman and Israel “Ice Pick Willie” Alderman.

The Nevada Tax Commission was vocal about its reluctance to accept Greenbaum and his leadership team due to their lengthy criminal histories. However, as the Reno Evening Gazette reported in September 1955, the commission “threw a life preserver” to the Riviera for the sake of the city’s continued economic solvency. By 1958, Greenbaum had righted the Riviera, but his persistent personal issues likely led to his still-unsolved murder along with his wife, Bess, on December 3, 1958.

Greenbaum’s death had no impact on the Outfit’s skimming operation, which had been going on since the Riviera opened in 1955. Riviera executives faced tax evasion charges in 1967 related to the ongoing skim, but these snags did not impede the Riviera’s continued success. It stood tall until its implosion in the summer of 2016.

The Dunes

The Arabian Desert-themed Dunes Hotel debuted on May 23, 1955. Its advantageous location at Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard meant it would be among the first properties seen by motorists from California. The original investors included movie theater owner Alfred Gottesman and two Providence businessmen, Bob Rice and Joe Sullivan, with ties to New England crime boss Raymond Patriarca.

Even with Mob money, the Dunes was not immediately successful. By September 1955, the Sands had been asked to take over control of the Dunes. The new owners held a grand opening celebration less than four months after the first one. Sands President Jake Freedman entered a lease to operate the Dunes, with Ed Levinson overseeing casino operations. They pulled out all the stops, including an appearance by Frank Sinatra riding a camel. After the opening, the Nevada State Journal asked, “Has the boom of new hotels gone too far or will Las Vegas continue as the lushest resort town in the country?”

Ultimately, the Sands could not turn the Dunes around. Midwestern gambler and oil magnate Major Riddle, who had ties to the Chicago Outfit, purchased the Dunes in 1956 and finally made it profitable. Riddle brought more Mob-connected individuals to the Dunes, including insurance agent Allen Dorfman and attorney Morris Shenker, both involved with the Teamsters Union Pension Fund.

One of the ways Major Riddle succeeded in making the Dunes profitable was through entertainment. In 1957, Riddle worked with Harold Minsky, a well-known New York burlesque producer, to bring the city’s first true topless revue. The show Minsky Goes to Paris, later called Minsky’s Follies, essentially created the Las Vegas showgirl.

Before Minsky’s Follies, showgirls were used as opening acts in showrooms and provided entertainment in smaller venues. Most early showgirls performed in a traditional burlesque style, and, due to decency laws, were not topless. Harold Minsky and his follies changed that. Riddle also brought Frederic Apcar to Las Vegas. A French dancer and producer, Apcar created the Casino de Paris showgirl revue in 1963. It replaced Minsky’s, which moved to the Silver Slipper and later the Aladdin.

In the 1960s and ’70s the Dunes became a battleground between law enforcement and the Mob. The FBI planted bugs on the property and worked to cultivate former employees of Shenker and others to work as informants. Because of continued federal scrutiny and the property’s natural aging, the Dunes failed to stay competitive in the 1980s and ’90s as properties along the Strip became bigger and sleeker. In 1992, Steve Wynn’s Mirage Resorts purchased the Dunes. The main tower and sign were imploded in spectacular fashion in 1993, and the south tower followed in 1994. The Dunes ultimately became the site of the Bellagio, which opened in 1998.

The Moulin Rouge

Unlike the other three properties, the Moulin Rouge was not built on the Strip. It was constructed on Bonanza Road between Martin Luther King Boulevard and H Street, at the edge of a predominantly Black neighborhood known as the Westside.

The Moulin Rouge opened on May 24, 1955, one day after the Dunes. It was the city’s first racially integrated hotel-casino. Before it opened, Black visitors to Las Vegas had no options for lodging other than one motor court and a few guest houses on the Westside. The Moulin Rouge is said to have infuriated Strip casino owners by luring away patrons, including celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Black entertainers, including Davis Jr., Lena Horne, and Nat King Cole, were not allowed to patronize the Strip’s restaurants, casinos and clubs, even in the resorts where they performed.

The Moulin Rouge property was developed by a group of white investors, led by Will Max Schwartz. The group relentlessly publicized heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis as a co-owner, but he had only a two percent share in the property.

The property filled an important niche. Las Vegas in the 1950s was a Jim Crow town, and both downtown and Strip casinos barred Black people from patronizing their establishments. In an April 1952 article in Jet magazine, singer-pianist Hazel Scott shared that she had been allowed to swim in the pool at the Hotel Last Frontier where she was staying and performing, but then the pool was closed “indefinitely pending rechlorination.”

Nothing had changed by March 1954, when Ebony magazine published an article titled, “Negroes Can’t Win in Las Vegas,” describing the city’s racial conditions. The article explains the double standard that, by 1954, many big-name Black entertainers were given accommodations on the Strip, but their friends and relations were still expected to stay off property. They were also not allowed to partake in other hotel amenities.

“We . . . are not at all satisfied with conditions in our city,” active local NAACP spokesman Woodrow Wilson said, as quoted in the Ebony article. “And we are doing all we can to bring about some change in them. We realize, though, that we are up against heavy odds in this fight and that it will take a long time to gain victory.”

The first few months of the Moulin Rouge appeared to prove the necessity for an integrated resort. Strip hotels were furious about employees and guests patronizing the property, and the showroom was often packed to capacity.

Bob Bailey, the showroom’s emcee, recalled the first time he stepped into the Moulin Rouge:

“I walked inside and the place took my breath away. The carpeting was bright and colorful; it looked like you could sink into it. Polished mahogany paneling framed the walls, and above the bar an artist had painted a signature mural of African American dancing girls in colorful French costumes. Some of the furniture was covered in leather and velvet, and crystal chandeliers dipped down from the ceilings. … No expense had been spared. It was as beautiful as anything I had seen in New York. And that included our corner of the enterprise: The Café Rouge showroom boasted about 500 seats, sophisticated lighting and sound equipment, and perhaps the most modern projection booth in the city.”

In his memoir, Looking Up!, Bailey describes the resort’s opening night:

“On opening night, it seemed like every man or woman who was ‘somebody’ in town showed up, including the mayor and administrators from the different hotels. I remember Tallulah Bankhead in the audience, along with Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, and Joe Adams, a major radio personality from Los Angeles and film actor.”

Bailey writes that the Moulin Rouge often was hopping all night long as entertainers and guests ventured over from the Strip and downtown.

“Along with the customary shows at 8:15 and 11:15 p.m., our public relations man, Martin Black, had the brilliant idea to try a third performance at 2:15 a.m. for the entertainers and musicians in town who were just getting off work, and the rounders who cruised from club to club all night. We tried it for a week, and discovered that was when the casino truly came to life. As time went on, the Moulin Rouge became a popular late-night — or should I say early morning — hangout for everyone from chorus girls to major entertainers, who would take cabs and limos from the Strip. I never knew who I would see in the audience during the Tropi-Can-Can: Edward G. Robinson, Cary Grant, Sarah Vaughn, Tallulah Bankhead, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole.”

The success was short lived. Due to financial mismanagement and the oversaturated market, the Moulin Rouge closed in October 1955. In December 1955, the owners filed for bankruptcy. The court proceedings were held at the Las Vegas federal building where The Mob Museum is now located. Four hundred creditors descended upon the court claiming they were owed a combined total of $3.8 million. The Moulin Rouge sold a few years later for $600,000, and most of its creditors received almost nothing.

The Moulin Rouge became a symbol of the civil rights movement in Las Vegas, not only because of its claim to fame as the first integrated hotel-casino resort. In 1960, the café connected to the now-defunct casino became the site of the historic Moulin Rouge agreement, a verbal compact between city officials, NAACP members and casino operators to integrate all hotel-casinos simultaneously.

Those thrilling six weeks in 1955 beg the question just as much in hindsight as 70 years ago: Was the boom overextended? Las Vegas real estate developers certainly did not think so. Hotels continued to pop up through the rest of the 1950s — the Fremont in 1956, the Tropicana in 1957 and the Stardust in 1958. Although construction cooled in the early 1960s, the hotel-casinos that weathered this building boom remained fixtures on the Strip for decades.

In 1950, Las Vegas saw about one million visitors annually. By 1960, the number soared to 10 million. And in 2024, Las Vegas welcomed more than 40 million visitors. Construction in 1955 proved there was in fact the possibility of having too much of a good thing, but the template for building casinos — and the presence of organized crime interests — remained strong.