Up until weeks before his death this month, 97-year-old Irving “Pete” Berger worked as a pit boss at Ellis Island Casino on Koval Lane, just east of the Strip.
It wasn’t because Berger had to work, but because casinos are where the excitement happens, so that’s where he wanted to be, according to one of his three granddaughters.
“Up until just one month ago, you’d find Grandpa there; right in the middle of the action,” said Anamarie Ellis, 32, at Berger’s funeral service on Wednesday.
A Las Vegas throwback who worked at multiple casinos in the valley for nearly 70 years, Berger died at his home on May 11 and was laid to rest at Palm Eastern Mortuary & Cemetery after the service.
