The Moulin Rouge was one of the shortest-lived—and historic—casinos in Las Vegas. Doubly significant for its role in the history of civil rights in the Valley, the property’s deterioration created both a physical and spiritual blight on the surrounding Westside community, as a series of redevelopment plans came to naught. But a new ownership group with strong ties to the community insists that the time is now for the Moulin Rouge to rise again on Bonanza Road.
Opened on May 24, 1955, the Moulin Rouge was the first racially integrated hotel-casino in Las Vegas. It drew customers but, apparently, not enough money to satisfy its creditors. Closed after an October 1955 bankruptcy, the casino opened sporadically under different owners over the next few years, and was best known for being the site where the March 1960 agreement to desegregate the city’s casinos was announced. It operated in a diminished capacity for years, ultimately becoming a short-term residential motel. A series of fires destroyed anything salvageable of the original structure, leading to a more or less empty space—and a blank slate.
The Moulin Rouge is significant enough to be on the National Registry of Historic Places. Since it received that designation in 1992, there have been several attempts to revive it, starting with then-owners James Walker, Joe Preddy and Sarann Knight Preddy. A host of community members and outsiders—ranging from Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe to Bob Stupak—showed varying levels of interest in bringing the property back in the 1990s. Following the property’s destruction, even more potential rebuilders have come—and gone.
That interest, though, never translated into meaningful action, which leads us to 2016. Scott Johnson, president of Moulin Rouge Holdings LLC, is committed to change on the Westside. His family has owned small businesses in the area for more than a half-century. Born in Arkansas, he’s been in Las Vegas for 30 years. But why take on the Moulin Rouge?
“Why not?” he answers with a smile. “It’s time.” He explains how his family’s history—and his own success in the construction industry—make the Moulin Rouge’s revival a natural next step, both for him and the community.
Project spokeswoman China Hudson is even more explicit. “This project can be the paddles for the defibrillator,” she says, noting that the project can spark a broader redevelopment in the area, which has recently seen the opening of a Starbucks and the Tenaya Creek Brewery.
Resurrecting the Moulin Rouge, as Hudson hints, is about more than giving Las Vegans another place to gamble. It’s a way, she says, to “let people know that they matter.” To that end, the project will also have a resource center and museum to both help and preserve the history of the surrounding Westside neighborhood.
In addition, a planned nonprofit, Moulin Rouge Cares, will reach out to the Westside. Creating the nonprofit, marketing and branding maven Deborah Porter says, “will help make sure people get connected” to the project from the start. Johnson points out that a reborn Moulin Rouge will create jobs in the community.
The big question, of course, is where the money is coming from. Johnson says he has commitments from a hedge fund and EB-5 investors. The latter program allows big-ticket (think $500,000 minimum) foreign nationals to apply for green cards in return for their investment (see “Invest in America: Building an Economy That Lasts”). Pamela Saleres, a venture capital and private equity specialist, is working with Johnson to corral the necessary capital. While she is still in the information-gathering stage, she is “95 percent optimistic” that the project will be a success.
“If I thought otherwise,” Saleres says, “I wouldn’t have taken it on.”
With a planned groundbreaking on May 24—the 61st anniversary of the Moulin Rouge’s famous opening—we will soon know whether the current group will succeed where others have failed. For his part, Johnson is optimistic and adamant.
“I’ve met with groups, met with the community,” he says. “People are tired of nothing happening here. I promised them I would do it.”
When reminded that the site has seen its share of promises, Johnson turns to his family for inspiration.
“Like my mom said, ‘Why not you?’”
David G. Schwartz is the director of UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research.
