Gaming to Return to Historic Moulin Rouge in Vegas

Return to Las Vegas for a day at the historic Moulin Rouge

The experience itself isn't much - a few spins on a slot machine in a trailer in a clearing strewn with broken glass and loose cement. But the bragging rights of playing at the site of the historic Moulin Rouge are sure to draw hundreds to 840 West Bonanza Road in Las Vegas one day next month.

On Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) recommended granting a one-day, unrestricted slot machine gaming license to the current owner of the historic West Side landmark.

If the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) approves the application on April 18 as expected, United Coin Co. will have a 40-foot, 16-slot container open on site for eight hours starting at 6 a.m. on May 14 .

The somewhat stiff commitment is required by law to be made every two years to protect the property's gambling rights. Nevada stopped issuing such licenses in the 1990s, making them highly sought after. The Gambling Commission has so far not rejected this repeated request.

Why Moulin Rouge is important

On May 24, 1955, the Moulin Rouge became the first racially integrated casino in the United States.

Before African Americans were allowed to gamble or work at the front desk in downtown Las Vegas or the Las Vegas Strip casinos, the Moulin Rouge was the home of Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Lena Ho Well, Count Basie and Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington's party headquarters. and their white friends and admirers, including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Jack Benny.

Unfortunately, the casino closed less than six months after opening. While the official culprit is financial mismanagement, not racism, it is often pointed out, correctly, that racism prevents troubled founders from obtaining bank loans as easily as their Las Vegas Strip colleagues.

Five years after it finally closed, the Moulin Rouge even made history. Back in 1960, casino officials, government leaders and the NAACP held a meeting here that ended segregation throughout Las Vegas.

At this historic summit, known as the "Moulin Rouge Accords," casino officials reluctantly agreed to allow African Americans to run casinos and hold public offices.

This landmark decision ultimately resulted in a ban on real estate redlining and all discrimination in employment and business licensing.

Sad Fate

Even though the Moulin Rouge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, it was not immune to vandalism or a series of fires that ultimately led to the building's destruction in 2010.

In 2020, Nevada-based RAH Capital paid $3.1 million for 11.3 acres of vacant land, which included the property with a valid, unrestricted gaming license attached, and agreed to pay nearly $2 million as well as an agreement with the site Relevant lien information clearance.

RAH has not yet announced any plans to develop the property. Although there have been claims for years to redevelop the historic casino on the site, the required funds have never materialized.