Railroad Pass Celebrates 90 Years As Nevada’s Oldest Casino

The oldest licensed casino in Silver State turns 90 on Sunday. The Railroad Pass Hotel Casino and Travel Center due south of Las Vegas testament celebrate that anniversary on Aug. 10 with a natal day political party at the holiday resort on the southern outskirts of Henderson.

On Mar 19, 1931, Gov. Fred Balzar signed Assembly Bill 98, legalizing play inward Nevada. type A few months later, on Aug. 1, the Railroad Pass opened. It received the fourth gaming licence inward Nevada. The land never issued the world-class deuce licenses. The thirdly licence recipient later closed, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Joe DeSimone, a Henderson existent landed estate developer, bought the historic attribute from MGM Resorts inwards 2015.

In addition, DeSimone of late bought the former Eldorado Casino in Henderson’s historical Water Street District, and spent $7 jillion renovating and rebranding it. The Water Street property is called The Pass.

Railroad Pass Improvements

At the Railroad Pass, DeSimone has spent millions on improvements o'er the years, including adding a Chevron gaseous state post and trip center to pull truckers, the newspaper publisher reported.

The resort is 2,367 feet supra sea layer on the North Pacific Ocean route to nearby Boulder City and John Edgar Hoover Dam, according to a Nevada Handbook entry past Deke Castleman. The hotel-casino is on the briny route for visitors driving up from Arizona. Gambling isn’t effectual inward Boulder City, but the Railroad Pass is only when four miles from the town.

DeSimone is upgrading the Railroad Pass with the expression of a $15 million hotel tower. The tower testament append 127 invitee rooms to the electric current 120 rooms at the resort, the paper reported. The tower will be a Holiday Inn Express, allowing guests to use Holiday Inn rewards points. Construction began this month.

The historical belongings also contains an original safe used for employee payroll. The safe has seemingly not been opened since 1975, according to the newspaper. DeSimone doesn’t hold the passcode to surface the safe, and doesn’t cognize what’s inward it.

Las Vegas Makeover

While the Railroad Pass builds upon its historical past, other well-known Southern NV casinos have got been razed and replaced by resorts with thousands of rooms.

On the Las Vegas Strip, longtime hotel-casinos such as the Desert Inn, Dunes, and Sands were imploded during a megaresort era that gained traction with the 1989 opening of the Mirage Hotel and Casino. Developer Steve Wynn built the Mirage on the west side of the Strip where the Castaways erstwhile stood.

Last month, the $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas opened on the W position of the Strip, where the Mob-connected Stardust was located.

The Stardust was the midpoint of New House of York journalist St. Nicholas Pileggi 1990s true up criminal offense volume Casino: Love and Honor inwards Las Vegas. Pileggi and managing director Martin Scorsese wrote the screenplay for the 1995 movie Casino, based on the book. In the movie, the Stardust was called the Tangiers for sound reasons.

Pileggi told Casino.org “old Vegas” had an versed lineament sometimes wanting today. However, the newer resorts get their possess appeal, he said.

“It’s Disneyland,” Pileggi said. “The climate is good. These hotel-casinos are spectacular. It’s just unbelievable.”