El Rancho Casino

The El Rancho Casino was a hotel and casino located on The Las Vegas Strip. On September 1, 1948, the Thunderbird opened its doors. The resort was built by Marion Hicks and owned by Cliff Jones. The resort had a Native American theme and featured portraits, a Navajo-based restaurant, the only bowling alley ever on the Las Vegas Strip, and a showroom. In 1955, articles surfaced in the Las Vegas Sun saying that Meyer Lansky and other underworld figures held hidden shares in the hotel. In 1964, The casino was purchased by Del Webb for $10 million and ran the resort until 1972. It was sold to Caesars World for $13 million, however, shortly after, repossessed it to Parry Thomas. Thomas finally sold it to Major Riddle, who renamed the resort...