Museum devoted to gambling

Las Vegas history buffs have a new place to see local memorabilia now that the Lost Vegas Historic Gambling Museum has opened inside Neonopolis.

The museum, which features more than 5,000 items, celebrated its grand opening March 12 with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in attendance.

"Las Vegas history is being preserved downtown," Goodman said. "I can't think of a better place for our history and culture to be showcased."

Museum exhibits include photographs, videos, hotel gambling chips and other items. There's a Bugsy Siegel collection, photographs of Fremont Street from the 1930s and of the Golden Gate Hotel from 1928.

Owner and Curator Richard Burgel, who calls himself an amateur Nevada historian, has been collecting the items for more than 30 years.

"My parents worked for an airline," he said. "They used to (travel) and bring me home plastic chips and I started collecting them. Little did they know it would become a hobby and a career. I love the history of (Vegas) because it's so easy to trace. It's such a young town."

Burgel said he is particularly proud of his Siegel collection and chips from hotels no longer in existence, such as the Sands and the Mint.

"With Las Vegas' 100th anniversary coming up, I thought (the museum) would be appropriate," Burgel said. "Everybody wants to see old stuff."

A store adjacent to the museum on Neonopolis's first floor sells Vegas memorabilia including postcards, T-shirts, videos and books.

The store's manager, Eric Ehresman, also is enthusiastic about the new museum.

"My favorite stuff is the casino memorabilia," he said, "the downtown clubs and some of the mob stuff. Vegas has a great history for a chunk of desert."

Ehresman said he and Burgel hunt everywhere for memorabilia.

"We go to casino shows, thrift stores, yard sales. Wherever we can find it."

"I travel around in my motor home to little towns," said Burgel. "Old people always dig up an old ashtray or something. To this day, I keep finding things I never saw before, like a toenail clipper with the Sands on it."

Admission to the museum is $2.50 general and $1.25 for seniors. Neonopolis is located at 450 Fremont Street.


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