New Town Tavern Destroyed in Fire
Las Vegas is home to many historic casinos with some major names like Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, and others dating back decades. However, one former historic casino may be a bit less well-known and went up in flames on Sunday night.
The property, located at Jackson Avenue and F Street, was formerly known as New Town Tavern and dates back to the ’50s. The building in the Las Vegas historic Westside area had been abandoned for several years, but the fire left the building completely destroyed.
“It’s a very historical site,” developer Shlomo Meiri told KVVU. “It was the first black-owned casino. It used to be a spot for the celebrities and famous at that time, and I hope to bring it back to what it used to be that will benefit everybody.”
Rebuilding a New Casino at an Historic Site
Meiri has some big plans for the site despite the fire. Plans call for a 34-story hotel with 222 rooms, a casino, theater, restaurants, and 500 apartments and condos. He says the project would produce 1,000 jobs for the area and he hopes to hire many Westside residents.
“It’s a depressed area, only vacant properties or vacant land, and somebody needs to do something about it, so we are here and want to do good for the community,” said Meiri.
The developer is working with city officials to get the project off the ground and expects the venue to open within five years. New Town Tavern was quite the hotspot after Oscar Green Sr. opened the casino and theater in 1955.
The 7,000-square-foot casino catered to the city’s African Americans during a time of segregation, offering a place for entertainment and some gambling. While the city’s casino industry grew and expanded, many African Americans were left out of the jobs and benefits that came with this and were segregated to the Westside area that had no running water, sewage lines, or paved streets.
“From the 1950s to the early 1960s, in the midst of the economic boom that was occurring in America, Las Vegas experienced spectacular growth,” PBS’s American Experience notes. “Tourists supplied the city with some $200 million in profits every year. The number of resorts on the Strip was increasing rapidly, and the city proclaimed itself the ‘Entertainment Capital’ of the country. However, outside of the neon glow of downtown Las Vegas, across the Fremont Street railroad tracks, lay the reality of racial segregation.”
Visitors would find blackjack and craps tables at New Town Tavern, but the property also boasted major African-American entertainment acts. Some of those that performed included Louis Armstrong, The Ink Spots, Little Milton, and others.
The property also hosted some big names who enjoyed dropping and checking out the scene. Some of those included Cab Calloway, Chubby Checker, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Sonny Liston, and even Ed Sullivan.
However, the city’s integration in the 1960s saw the property facing increased competition as the city’s Black residents could now visit Las Vegas’s other casinos as well. New owners came and went before the casino closed in 1970. New Town opened again in 1981 and operated until 2010, when the city forced the casino to close because of poor conditions.
The venue may be lost after the recent fire, but some in the area are hoping a new casino property will once again rise in the area.
Supreme Court Weighs in on Seminole Sports Betting Plans
The continuing saga of the Seminole tribe’s attempt to bring sports betting to Florida may reach the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts imposed a stay after a Court of Appeals recently upheld a 2021 updated compact between the state and the tribe that included online sports betting.
Experts say that the court may be considering the case to clear up some differing rulings at the lower court level on whether wagering off of tribal lands is allowed under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
“The question of IGRA’s applicability to off-reservation tribal gaming (including online sports betting) has been a hotly debated topic in recent years, as tribes seek to benefit from the repeal of the federal ban on state-authorized sports betting in an increasingly digital gaming environment while, at the same time, being subjected to a federal law that authorizes only land-based gambling,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys note in court documents. “Previous interpretations of IRGA – by courts, federal agencies, and even the State of Florida – had made resoundingly clear that IGRA does not apply to gaming activity that occurs off Indian lands.”
The issue also faces opposition in state court. The plaintiffs, Magic City Casino and Bonita Springs Poker Room, argue have asked the Florida Supreme Court to rule that the updated compact is invalid because of a 2018 constitutional amendment barring more gaming expansion.
