What was the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip?

Las Vegas has not always been the dazzling megapolis illuminating the night skies in the Nevadan deserts it is today. Its origins are much humbler, and by one account, the city was a little more than a "water hole for cattle." As you stroll down the busy Las Vegas Boulevard today, though, one cannot help but wonder "what was the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip?"

As it happens, both the Pair-o-Dice Club and El Rancho Vegas are tied for the title, but there are a few caveats to mind here. First, though, what pivotal moment led to the city’s transformation into one of the best-known tourist destinations world despite its arid climate and miles upon miles of surrounding desert?

The First Casino Built on the Las Vegas Strip

Deciding what was the first casino built in the Strip in Las Vegas may be a matter of interpretation. It’s not that the information is missing from the records. Rather, there are two ways to look at it. If you mean what the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip ever was, then that is the Pair-o-Dice Club, a nightclub which offered gambling as its main attraction, but lacked much of the other aspects of modern casinos.

This happened on December 16, 1931, and the property was located at Highway 91. However, the true concept of what Las Vegas casinos would look like was only forged a decade later, with the emergence of the El Rancho Vegas which opened on April 3, 1941, and became the first paragon of a casino resort property, featuring both a gambling floor and a 63-bungalow hotel.

Effectively, historians and Las Vegas aficionados are divided in deciding which property should claim the title "first casino." The Pair-o-Dice Club certainly passed for one, but the El Rancho Vegas essentially established the blueprint for modern-day commercial gambling, which is followed to this very day. Here are some interesting facts about both the Pair-o-Dice and El Rancho Vegas.

How Pair-o-Dice Club became the "first casino" on the Strip

The Pair-o-Dice Club was the invention of two locals, a married couple by the names of Frank and Angelina Detra who believed in the future of Las Vegas, much like Carolyn and Oscar Goodman, the city’s most recent mayors, did.

Frank and Angelina decided to buy the land on Highway 91 or the Los Angeles Highway as you may know it. They only needed the land, subscribing to an unspoken tenet of real estate – "location, location, location."

The Pair-o-Pace Club had to be built from scratch, with the Detra family modelling it like a low-ceiling Spanish structure. It’s not clear from historical records when the family purchased the land, but they opened the club on December 16, 1931, several months after gambling was officially legalized in the state of Nevada on March 19, 1931.

The club obtained its license on May 5, 1931, but opened only several months later.

Although the Pair-o-Pace would not survive in its original format, it is largely credited with creating the conditions for the further development of gambling properties in the city. The Detra family had a good business flair and they quickly put it to good use.

Frank was acquainted with Al Capone, a notorious gangster who commanded a lot of political influence across the United States. Capone gained popularity during the Prohibition era between 1920 and 1933. Capone even gifted the Detra family an engraved watch, which is on display to this very day at the Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What happened with Pair-o-Pace you may wonder? Despite the property’s initial success, the arrival of El Rancho Vegas would deal a significant economic blow to the establishment. Even before the arrival of El Rancho Vegas, the Detra family had decided to sell Vegas’ first "Strip casino" to Guy McAfee who bought it in 1939 and rebranded it to 91 Club.

Eventually, 91 Club was unable to keep up with the incoming competition of western-themed casino resorts, including those owned by McAfee who didn’t stop at buying out Pair-o-Dice Club but also developed the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, which opened doors on October 30, 1942.

The first Las Vegas casino resort, El Rancho

Despite the early-day success of Pair-o-Dice Club, the answer to "what was the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip" might be different. From a modern point of view, the first real casino resorts arrived in Las Vegas with the introduction of the El Rancho Vegas property.

The establishment was built right on what would become the "Las Vegas Strip." The term "Las Vegas Strip" first appeared in the 1940s, coinciding with the influx of new properties. The El Rancho Vegas will be one of the progenitors of the Strip and the industry’s business model.

El Rancho Vegas was established by Thomas Hull a tycoon and hotel owner out of California who recognized the potential of Highway 91, much like the Detra family had before him. Highway 91 was an important infrastructural artery that would define the success of the desert city.

El Rancho Vegas sprawled over 66 acres and featured both a casino and a 63-bungalow hotel. These bungalows continued to be rented out until 1980. Hull funded the construction of the property with $500,000, approximately $10,000,000 in today’s money, adjusted for inflation.

However, Hull did not just bank on the property’s location. He pioneered many formats that would prove a magnet for celebrities and tourists. The El Rancho Vegas started to offer free room and board to the celebrities of the time.

With more prominent Americans visiting, the El Rancho Vegas gained favorable media coverage. Early TV broadcasts would feature the property in the far-flung Las Vegas, and America’s spending culture would prompt hundreds of thousands of visitors to head out for this fascinating new tourist destination – in the middle of a desert, offering all the comforts money can buy.

The El Rancho Vegas similarly put a great focus on the culinary experience, establishing the tradition that a good holiday usually involves good food, a prelude to the Michelin-star restaurants that dominate the Las Vegas Strip scene today.

The location did play a part, however, as the McCarran Field, the airport, was only 4 miles away, with planes disgorging tourists into the bowels of the 66-acre casino resort almost from the tarmac.

The 1940s were the years when commercial traveling was getting a flying start as it were. In 1941, it’s thought that around 800,000 people visited Las Vegas, and many of those visited El Rancho Vegas, or were drawn by it.

By the end of the decade, the number of tourists already exceeded 1,000,000 people, and this is not least because of the arrival of a second casino property, the Flamingo in 1946.

Is El Rancho Vegas operating to this very day?

Tragically, no. El Rancho Vegas was doing very well and it was synonymous with The Las Vegas Strip for several decades. It all came to an end on June 17, 1960, when a fire broke out in the early morning. The day was marked by high winds that further stoked the flames, spreading the fire before the authorities could adequately address the situation.

The damage to the property was extensive, leading the owners of the casino resort to decide against the reconstruction of the property. Today’s site of the once El Rancho Vegas is occupied by the Hilton Grand Vacations Club, a non-gambling property at the far end of The Strip.

Although the fire was deemed an accident, and no official cause was ever established, rumors persisted that El Rancho’s mobster neighbors had a hand in its demise. By 1960, there were around a dozen casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip already, making it one of the highly competitive gambling hubs, and the city already pulled some 6,700,000 visitors annually.

Was the Flamingo the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip?

Owing to its reputation, the Flamingo is often credited with being the first casino on the Strip in Las Vegas. This is not true. The Pair-o-Dice Club and specifically the El Rancho Casino were the first gambling establishments and casino resort properties on the Strip respectively.

The Flamingo arrived only later on December 26, 1946. The project gained a lot of exposure not only because of successfully emulating the El Rancho Vegas model, but also building on it. It also didn’t hurt that the Mafia, in the face of Bugsy Siegel, a notorious gangster, and his associates had invested in the property.

Off to a rocky start, the Flamingo turned a loss in the first year of operation and had to close down temporarily, which caused a lot of in-fighting in the mafia, with Siegel as the man on the hook.

He assured his associates that the casino simply needed to improve its model, with further investment going down the property, and the Flamingo reopening on March 1, 1947, to only suffer more financial losses. That year, mobsters’ store of goodwill had run short, and Siegel was killed in Beverly Hills, in the home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill.

Surprisingly, Flamingo’s new management was quick to plug financial holes and return the casino to sustainability, landing it in the black a few years later.

The Flamingo is very much present on the Las Vegas Strip to this very day, and in the sense that it has outlived most other properties of its times, carrying the same proud name, albeit mixed history, it is for many observers the first true casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

The First Casino on the Vegas Strip - It's Complicated

The Pair-o-Dice Club and El Vegas Rancho both claim to have been the first "casino" properties on what would eventually become the Las Vegas Strip. The Las Vegas casino timeline is more intricate than these claims suggest. For example, even before gambling was legalized in 1931, gambling activities were already present.

What was the first casino in Las Vegas?

The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino was indeed the first casino in Las Vegas, opening in 1906. Although gambling was available at the venue, it was not technically legal at the time, as no official regulations governed the activity. Additionally, the Golden Gate was located in downtown Las Vegas, not on what would become The Strip.

The story of the First Las Vegas Strip Casino concludes

As you can see, the story of the Las Vegas Strip is fascinating. Even before the Strip was conceived as a concept, the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino was already offering gambling in downtown Vegas. Then, the Pair-o-Dice Club became the first licensed property to arrive in Vegas, and specifically - on the place that would become known as the Las Vegas Strip. It wasn't until the arrival of El Rancho Vegas that the blueprint for modern-day Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip was established. And the best part? The story of Vegas and the Strip continued to be written every day.

The First Casino Built on The Las Vegas Strip FAQs

What was the first casino resort built on the Las Vegas Strip?

The first casino resort built on what we call the Las Vegas Strip today is the El Rancho Vegas. The property opened on April 3, 1941, and operated until it burnt down in a fire on June 17, 1960.

What was the first casino built on the Strip in Las Vegas?

The first casino built on what would become the Las Vegas Strip was the Pair-o-Dice Club, which opened in 1931. However, the first true casino resort on the Strip is widely credited to be El Rancho Vegas, which opened in 1941.

What was the first hotel built in Las Vegas?

The first hotel built in Las Vegas was the aptly named Hotel Nevada, which opened doors in 1906, 25 years before the first licensed gambling establishment, the Pair-o-Dice Club, arrived.

How did the modern-day Las Vegas Strip start?

Modern-day Las Vegas Strip began in 1931 when local authorities issued a license to the Detra family to open the Pair-o-Dice Club. The club opened doors on December 16, 1931, on Highway 91, becoming the first property to be built on what would be called "The Las Vegas Strip" from the 1940s onward. However, it wasn’t until the arrival of resort-style casinos in 1941 with El Vegas Rancho that the name "The Las Vegas Strip" was adopted.

What happened to the Pair-o-Dice Club?

The Pair-o-Dice Club, which was the first gambling establishment or casino on what would become the Las Vegas Strip was eventually sold to Guy McAfee in 1939. The establishment was rebranded to 91 Club and was later eclipsed by competition from resort-style casinos. McAfee opened the New Frontier Hotel and Casino.

What happened to El Rancho Vegas?

The property burnt down in a fire on June 17, 1960. The owners of the property decided against reopening it. The cause of the fire was never established, and although rumors persisted that competitors had had something to do with the fire, this was never proven.

Is La Flamingo the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip?

No, the Flamingo was built and opened in 1946, five years after El Rancho Vegas, which opened in 1941, and more than a decade after the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931. The Flamingo is one of the longest-standing and most iconic present-day casinos.

Was the first Las Vegas Strip casino built by the mafia?

No, not at all. The first "casino" on the Las Vegas Strip was the Pair-o-Dice Club. However, there are several things to note here. First, the Pair-o-Dice Club owners did know Al Capone and seemed to be on good terms with him.

However, Al Capone himself did not invest in the casino – not that it is known of. Another thing of note here is that the first resort-style casino was introduced by Thomas Hull, an investor out of California, who built the El Rancho Vegas. Hull was not a member of the mafia based on historical records.

What was the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip?

The first true resort-style casino on the Las Vegas Strip was the El Rancho Vegas. It was developed by Thomas Hull, a real estate investor out of California, who put down $500,000 of his money to see the venture true. This is about $10,000,000 in today’s money adjusted for inflation.

Did mobsters on the Las Vegas Strip?

No, mobsters did not "own" the Las Vegas Strip, but they were involved in its development. The Flamingo, for instance, was a project pitched by Bugsy Siegel, a notorious gangster who envisioned and developed the property.

Despite the initial promise, the Flamingo faced financial difficulties and did not turn a profit under Siegel’s management. Consequently, Siegel was killed by his associates due to the financial strain and lack of success of the Flamingo. Surprisingly, the "new management" made the property profitable in a short time, which means that Siegel may have needed some time to do so himself.

When was the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip opened?

The first casino on the Las Vegas Strip may be attributed to either the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931 or the El Vegas Rancho in 1941. Both of these properties were located on what would later become known as the Las Vegas Strip, on Highway 91.

It’s important to note that Pair-o-Dice Club was only focused on gambling whereas El Vegas Rancho was the blueprint for today’s resort-style casinos.

Who founded the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip?

The Detra family built and established the Pair-o-Dice Club in 1931. Thomas Hull, a Californian real estate developer, built the El Vegas Rancho in 1941. Both properties could be credited with being "the first casino built on the Las Vegas Strip."

Is the first casino on the Las Vegas Strip still standing today?

No, neither Pair-o-Dice Club nor El Vegas Rancho are around anymore. The club was acquired and wounded down whereas the casino resort burnt down in a fire in 1960.

Image credit: "The Vegas Strip by Don Ramey Logan from Wikimedia Commons by Don Ramey Logan