Engelstad: A champion for the common man

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

It was fitting that the large portrait beside his mahogany-toned casket depicted Ralph Engelstad in an open-collar blue shirt.

No matter how many tens of millions of dollars the owner of the Imperial Palace casino resorts in Las Vegas and Biloxi, Miss., raked in, he never lost touch with the common man, friends at Tuesday's services at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church said.

Longtime friend Tom Clifford told about 900 mourners that when Engelstad died of cancer last Tuesday night at his Las Vegas home, officials at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota, opened the hockey arena so his friends and admirers could gather there to say goodbye. Engelstad had donated $104 million to build the arena.

"The thing that struck me was the large number of blue-collar class people who came to pay their respects," Clifford said. "He was one of them and they were with him.

"Ralph was a man of his convictions. He did what he wanted to do. He followed his goals tirelessly."

Others remembered Engelstad as a man who preferred wearing jeans and sneakers with no socks, even for business meetings; a man who would rather eat a meal bought at a McDonald's drive-thru than dine at a gourmet restaurant; and a character who used colorful language and enjoyed Scotch and cigarettes.

"He was perhaps the only guy I knew who could drink and smoke more than me," fellow self-made millionaire Bob Stupak, former owner of the Stratosphere and Vegas World hotel-casinos, said after the services. "And when we were done, I would be the one wobbling out of the place."

But Stupak, like many others, also remembered Engelstad's generosity and said he never turned a blind eye to those in need.

"You only needed to ask him to help then wait less than a minute for his answer -- which was yes," Stupak said.

Ed Crispell, general manager of the Imperial Palace for a quarter of a century, said: "Most of Ralph's good deeds were done anonymously."

Portions of Engelstad's generosity were more obvious than others, such as his monthly busing of seniors from local nursing homes to the Imperial Palace for a free meal and show.

Other acts of generosity done without fanfare included payments for medical treatment of children of poor families, assistance with burial expenses of families that could not afford funeral costs, uniforms for sports teams and donations to animal shelters, Crispell said.

The lowest moment of Engelstad's life -- a $1.5 million fine levied against him in 1989 by Nevada gaming regulators for housing a secret Nazi memorabilia room at the Imperial Palace -- was just briefly referred to by one of the speakers, longtime friend Reggie Morelli.

Engelstad, who had held parties in the Nazi memorabilia room allegedly to observe Adolf Hitler's birthdays in 1986 and 1988, later denounced Hitler, apologized for his error in judgment and emptied the room of the memorabilia.

"The controversy was overwhelming but he fought it off -- a good thing too, because he didn't want to be seen as a plain Jane Norwegian," Morelli said.

Morelli urged fellow mourners to stand and applaud Engelstad for all of the good things he did. The ovation lasted about 30 seconds.

After the Nazi scandal, Engelstad went on to co-develop the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and gave millions of dollars in endowments to his alma mater, where he had had been a goalie on the hockey team in the early 1950s.

Engelstad was one of the nation's last independent casino owners. He built his property, originally known as the Flamingo Capri, from 650 rooms to its current 2,700 rooms. He later built the 1,100-room Imperial Palace in Biloxi.

He also won the 1991 National Employer of the Year Award from President George Bush's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. About 13 percent of Imperial Palace employees have some form of disability. Engelstad also was twice named state employer of the year.

As a gaming pioneer, Engelstad established the first drive-thru sports book and the first on-site medical clinic for Las Vegas guests and employees.

Born Jan. 28, 1930, in Thief River Falls, Minn., Engelstad was the grandson of Norwegian farmers. He overcame tough, humble beginnings and as a young man vowed he would be a millionaire by age 30. He accomplished that goal at age 29 while a contractor in Grand Forks, N.D.

"Ralph lived a remarkable life and excelled in whatever he did," Crispell said.

Engelstad moved to Las Vegas in 1959 and his company landed contracts to construct commercial buildings at the Nevada Test Site and federally funded housing in North Las Vegas. A street there is named for him.

In 1967, Engelstad sold 145 acres around the North Las Vegas Air Terminal for $2 million to billionaire Howard Hughes. In 1971, Engelstad purchased the old and decaying Flamingo Capri on the Strip and added some buildings and a casino.

In 1979, the resort became the Imperial Palace. There Engelstad housed his multimillion-dollar automobile collection.

Engelstad and longtime friend Bill Bennett, chairman of the Sahara hotel-casino, financed the construction of the $200 million-plus Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They sold the facility to NASCAR track magnate O. Bruton Smith in December 1998. Bennett was one of eight honorary pallbearers at Tuesday's services.