Las Vegas’ casino history isn’t just told in neon and nostalgia. It’s preserved in blueprints, sketches, and personal records housed inside UNLV’s Special Collections and Archives, where materials tied to some of the city’s most iconic resorts offer a window into how Nevada became what it is today.
Among the items in the collection are concept drawings and planning documents from major properties. “This is a concept drawing. This is from 1967; Circus Circus opened in 1968,” said Kristian Taketomo, the curator of gaming collections at UNLV.
The casino-related materials are only part of what the archives hold, but they illustrate why the collection matters, Taketomo said.
