Pop-up casino opens for 8 hours at former Moulin Rouge

History buff Richard Greeno, right, of Frankfort, Ind. talks with Dennis Delahunt, left, and Dalles Sullivan outside a temporary casino on the site of the historic Moulin Rouge casino on Bonanza Road Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Greeno says he he has a Las Vegas museum in Frankfort. Delahunt and Sullivan are marketing consultants to the property owners. The casino, the first integrated casino in Las Vegas, opened in May 1955 but closed in October of the same year. The temporary casino is held on the site every two years to preserve the gaming license to the property.

Moulin Rouge Casino 4 A Day

Cale Guthmiller of Boise, Idaho displays his money after cashing out at a temporary casino on the site of the historic Moulin Rouge casino on Bonanza Road Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Guthmiller actually came out even - he started with $10. The casino, the first integrated casino in Las Vegas, opened in May 1955 but closed in October of the same year. The temporary casino is held on the site every two years to preserve the gaming license to the property. Launch slideshow »

Moulin Rouge - a look back

The Moulin Rouge was Las Vegas’ first integrated hotel-casino in the 1950s. Launch slideshow »

The trailer with 15 slot machines popped up once again today on the site of the historic Moulin Rouge near downtown Las Vegas.

But unlike in past years when owners set up the makeshift casino to keep alive the property's unrestricted gaming license, people showed up.

By 10 a.m., more than two dozen people had stopped by to give the slots a spin in the trailer off Bonanza Road, near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

"We've never had a crowd before," said Dennis J. DeLaHunt, president of one of the real estate brokers that owns the property.

The players included Tom Hemerle and Pete Schemberger, of Milwaukee, who heard about the opening via news reports during breakfast.

"We've been coming (to Las Vegas) since 1960, and we're real nostalgia buffs," Schemberger said.

The Moulin Rouge, which became Las Vegas' first integrated casino in 1955, burned down in 2003. The property went into foreclosure in 2009.

But the casino still carries an unrestricted gaming license, which grants future owners permission to run a full-service casino without a hotel. Nevada stopped issuing those licenses in the early 1990s.

In order to keep the grandfathered license, the Moulin Rouge is required to operate at least 15 slot machines for eight hours every two years.

This year, the temporary casino was set to stay open until 2 p.m.

Gaming

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