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Hughes’ involvement here has absolutely done us wonders,” Laxalt told Esquire magazine in 1969. No one, however, could impugn the integrity of a Howard Hughes-owned casino. His predecessor, Grant Sawyer, had barely headed off a federal mob-hunting raid on the Strip. Paul Laxalt, Hughes’ purchases were a dream come true. Las Vegas was barely removed from the Kefauver-Kennedy open hostility toward legal gambling (see “The Book That Tried to End Las Vegas,” Vegas Seven September 4, 2013), and the threat of federal action against alleged organized crime redoubts in the city’s casinos was still serious.įor Gov. It is impossible to overstate just how big Howard Hughes was to Nevada in the late 1960s. His acquisitions made him, almost overnight, the state’s largest employer, and gave him a political blank check. In late 1967, it seemed that Hughes was bent on buying the entire state of Nevada. This spree only whetted Hughes’ desires he reportedly was interested in buying the Las Vegas Review-Journal, an advertising agency, a second local television station and McCarran Airport. By September 1967, he had already acquired or optioned 21.6 acres of land south of the Frontier, the Pyramids Hotel and surrounding land near the Sands, the Hank Greenspun-founded KLAS, then (and now) the city’s CBS affiliate, Alamo Airways, the 518-acre Krupp Ranch, Spring Mountain Ranch, Warm Springs Ranch and the North Las Vegas Air Terminal (and 1,200 adjacent acres).Īll of that, in addition to the Husite land and his assorted other 1950s purchases, meant that just a few months after returning to town, Hughes had an empire. His purchases weren’t restricted to casinos. Parry Thomas’ help, he bought, in addition to the Desert Inn, the Sands, the Castaways, the Frontier and the Silver Slipper. On March 22, 1967, Maheu announced that Hughes had bought the Desert Inn, including its casino, hotel and golf course. As can be expected, there was a fair amount of back and forth in the talks, but in the end it came down to Maheu and Roen, who reportedly finalized the sale in an elevator ride. Hughes and Dalitz were the principals, but it was Maheu and Dalitz’s confidante, Allard Roen, who negotiated the deal. This being Las Vegas, a deal could be made. A phone call from a friend, Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa, convinced Dalitz otherwise.
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He wanted to toss the billionaire-he might be the richest man in America, but he wasn’t playing. As the December lull bled into the preparations for New Year’s Eve, Dalitz and his managers grew antsy. Still, even a god-king had to obey the one unbreakable law of Las Vegas: Thou shalt not keep gamblers away from the tables. It may be incredible that a newspaper publisher would celebrate reporters not pursuing a major story, but this was Howard Hughes. “We hope,” Greenspun concluded, “he finds it.” All he asked in return was a little “private space.” He had already “conquered outer space,” and was now ready to make some money for Nevadans. Having been hounded out of Boston, Hughes could bring inconceivable prosperity to Nevada.