Group sees future for Moulin Rouge

Dan Kulin

Friday, Dec. 20, 2002 | 9:19 a.m.

The owner of the Moulin Rouge is negotiating with a group of black businessmen who could run the casino portion of the historic hotel expected to open this spring.

The Moulin Rouge Development Corp. and property owner Bart Maybie are discussing a possible partnership in renovating and operating the new version of the Moulin Rouge. The hotel, which originally opened in 1955, was Las Vegas' first interracial hotel-casino.

Maybie, who bought the property about six years ago, said he has no plans to sell it. The discussions do not affect plans to open a restaurant in March or April. Casino operations, including a sports book and 75 slot machines, will open later in the spring, Maybie said.

The restaurant and casino are only part of larger plans for the property. A nonprofit group also has formed to open an African-American museum and cultural center on the property, said Katherine Duncan, Maybie's assistant and a member of the group. The Moulin Rouge Museum and Cultural Center board has received a $100,000 state grant for museum-related expenses, Duncan said.

The development corporation is led by Rod Bickerstaff, a Los Angeles attorney; Chauncey Moore, a former slots and bingo manager at the Sycuan casino near San Diego; and Dale Scott, a Las Vegas resident involved in refurbishing, distributing and selling slot machines.

"The Moulin Rouge Development Corp. is an African-American company coming to the table to bring back the Moulin Rouge," Bickerstaff said. "Because of the history of the Moulin Rouge we think it's important to have African-Americans involved in the project to preserve the history of African-Americans in Las Vegas and the Moulin Rouge."

"We want to eventually bring the Moulin Rouge back to its heyday."

Bickerstaff and Scott met with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., Thursday morning.

Bickerstaff said the meeting was "a meet and greet." They did not ask for any financial assistance for the casino project, he said.

Berkley said she was excited by the planned restoration of the hotel and casino.

Currently, 111 hotel rooms that were part of the original hotel are rented as apartments, Duncan said. Also on the property are 110 motel rooms, which are also rented as apartments, 56 apartments and 46 condominiums, she said.

The building, on Bonanza Road near Martin Luther King Boulevard, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, Duncan said.