Nevada Biltmore 614 N Main Las Vegas, NV Page 2

614 N Main

Las Vegas, NV

Nevada Biltmore

1944 to 1950

Page 2

Pay particularly close attention to article at the left that notes that the new owners say, "no change was expected in the management and staff."

In fewer than 6 weeks there would be a tremendous change in the management and staff that would end in a legal battle.

The articles below add many names to the roster of Nevada Biltmore owners, operators, and interested parties including the famous big band leader Horace Heidt.

Heidt retained a financial interest in the property from its construction in 1943 with Robert L. Brooks, through foreclosure proceedings in 1949 and again in 1954 after it had become the Shamrock Hotel.

This article packs a lot of old well known names into a short column. They were not related to the Nevada Biltmore but I left them in becasue I found them interesting. Just the last lines of the article mention the Nevada Biltmore.

Mo Sedway at the Frontier. This was the original Frontier Club at 117 Fremont Street, not the better known Frontier Hotel on the strip, which didn't open until 1967.

Benny Binion, J. S. Pappas, and Nick Dandorlas at the Western Club.

The last sentence of the article says that the Nevada Biltmore license was "deferred subject to investigation". Just five days later, new owner Stanley Hunter would be heading to court claiming racial discrimination as he is denied a gaming license for planning to make the Nevada Biltmore a destination for the African American clientele of Las Vegas.

In the late 1940's Las Vegas, like most U.S. cities was heavily segregated. Although black entertainers made big money for the hotels and casinos they were not allowed to "mix" with the white patrons. They were not allowed to stay in the main hotel rooms, eat in the restaurants, or play at the tables.

I highly recommend the book,

"Beyond the Glimmering Lights"

The Pride and Perseverance of African Americans in Las Vegas

by Trish Geran to anyone interested in early Las Vegas history.

Here we find the reported mortgage amount that big band leader Horace Heidt is still holding on the Nevada Biltmore comes to $180,000.

In today's dollars that would come to a little over $1.7 million.

In this article from January of 1946 about the El Rancho we find another name as an operator of the Nevada Biltmore in 1946:

G. E. Kinsey of Los Angeles.

In October 1948 it's the J. D. Smith Exchange operating the Nevada Biltmore and perhaps playing a little fast and loose with the drinks and credit!

Some things never seem to change.

Later in 1946 G. E. Kinsey will sell out to the big band leader Horace Heidt.

Here we have a lawsuit with yet more folks operating the Nevada Biltmore.

We have Ralph H. Stoughton

with Frank and Dorothy Barbaro

involved in litigation regarding their joint operations between March 1947 through May 1948.

By August 1949 the court clashes over the fate of the Nevada Biltmore continue.

We have Irving Ahlswede pitted against Carl Amante, Louis Wiener, James Sill and B Mahlon Brown.

The end of 1949 is the final gasp of the Nevada Biltmore as it changes hands and becomes the Shamrock Hotel.

Jack Walsh, named on the matchcover below, was the manager of the Nevada Biltmore in 1947.

He was the manager when Chico Marx, one of the famous movie idols the Marx Brothers, suffered a heart attack while performing at the Nevada Biltmore.

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