Historic Las Vegas casino destroyed by fire

The Moulin Rouge, a historic Las Vegas casino that once played host to the likes of Sammy Davis Jr and Nat “King” Cole, has been destroyed by fire.

Three people were injured and about 100 others were evacuated yesterday from apartments in what were once the casino’s hotel rooms.

The apartments were separate from the casino and didn’t burn.

The injured – two residents and a firefighter – were treated at a hospital and released.

The Moulin Rouge, about a mile north west of the central casino district, opened in 1955 as the only casino in Nevada that did not practice racial segregation.

Frank Sinatra, Cole and Davis were among headliners who appeared in the Club Rouge showroom.

The casino closed after only six months, but in 1960, city and gambling leaders met there to officially desegregate the Las Vegas Strip.

“This is a big loss for Nevada and for the African-American culture,” said Dale Scott, chief executive of the Moulin Rouge Development Corporation, which was renovating the property and planned to reopen the casino on its 50th anniversary.

The long-closed property has had a string of owners and renovation plans – and has long been a focus of preservationists.

This month, it was listed among 11 Nevada historic places in danger of being lost to development and other pressures.

Firefighters arrived at the building to find the roof engulfed in flames.

The building was gutted.

A damage estimate was not immediately available, and the cause of the fire was being investigated.