It was 75 years ago that the Desert Inn opened for business. It became a legend. So did many of those associated with it.
The DI was the brainchild of Wilbur Clark. He was a gaming veteran. He had worked on the cruise ships off the California coast, where other famous Las Vegans got some training, including Sam Boyd. Clark owned the El Rancho Vegas on the Strip and the Monte Carlo downtown, but he wanted to build a new luxury resort. He was familiar with the Desert Inn resort in Palm Springs, and hoped to create something like it in Las Vegas.
Clark started construction in 1947, but he ran into the same problem that plagued Billy Wilkerson when he was building the Flamingo … he ran out of money. His other investors included a recent Las Vegas arrival named Hank Greenspun, who didn’t have much money, either. Clark tried to get federal help but couldn’t. He finally turned to outside investors from Cleveland. Their leader was Morris Barney “Moe” Dalitz, joined by Sam Tucker, Morris Kleinman, Thomas McGinty, and Allard Roen. They completed the construction. It opened on April 24, 1950, as Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn. The DI The DI had 300 hotel rooms and the Sky Room for fine dining. It was the first Las Vegas hotel with a fountain at the entrance. It also had a play area set aside for children.
The DI trumpeted its 2,400-square-foot casino, which was huge then and wouldn’t be noticed today. The showroom was called the Painted Desert Room. It later became the Crystal Room. On opening night it starred the popular radio team of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Actress-singer Vivian Blaine was there, a few months before her star turn in Guys and Dolls. The dance troupe was led by Donn Arden, whose impact on dancing and Las Vegas showrooms is legendary.
The DI’s entertainment was legendary, too. Jazz singer Billy Eckstine made his Las Vegas debut soon after the hotel opened. The next year, another singer made his Strip debut at the Desert Inn: Frank Sinatra. Yes, he moved over to the Sands shortly thereafter. The big names in the DI’s showroom ranged from Jimmy Durante and Buster Keaton to Noël Coward and Danny Kaye.
The Desert Inn included a country club. In 1953, it began hosting the Professional Golf Association’s Tournament of Champions. The biggest names in professional golf came to Las Vegas, with all of the publicity that went with them.
The Cleveland group ran the property. Clark was an investor and had a say. Dalitz and company apparently were not disrespectful to him. And if Clark was a front man, he was a GREAT front man.
Clark’s widow Toni left a lot of his material to UNLV’s Special Collections. The photos are amazing. If anyone famous came to Las Vegas, Clark met them, and probably knew them pretty well. And Clark didn’t limit himself to gaming. In addition to a lot of charity work, he invested in real estate. The road that leads to the Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV is Wilbur Street because Clark developed it, and the other streets in the development are named for his family members.
Clark was important, but so were the people who stayed in the background running the Desert Inn. Especially Dalitz. More on him and the Desert Inn next time.