Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Imperial Palace founder remembered fondly

Pallbearers carry the casket of Imperial Palace founder Ralph Engelstad into Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church Tuesday. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Hundreds of the late Ralph Engelstad's friends and family members turned out Tuesday to pay their final respects to the Imperial Palace founder.

Engelstad, who died at his Las Vegas home on Nov. 26 after a 20-month battle with lung cancer, was 72.

The three men who delivered eulogies at the 80-minute ceremony at a memorial service at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church emphasized Engelstad's generosity and his common touch.

Imperial Palace general manager Ed Crispell, who worked for Engelstad since 1986, said his longtime boss was not only a great businessman and deal maker, but a caring man as well.

Citing Engelstad's long-standing help to shut-in senior citizens in Las Vegas, Crispell said the philanthropist's generosity was deep and wide-ranging.

"Little children all over the world, the handicapped, animal shelters, veterans, high school sports teams," all benefited, he said.

"Ralph had a wonderful life and he was loved by his wife and family," Crispell said. "He was also loved by his second family at the Imperial Palace."

Longtime friend Reggie Morelli said Engelstad was a good friend.

"Ralph was just about the best guy you could ask to spend 20 years with," Morelli said.

Former college hockey teammate Tom Clifford remembered Engelstad's sense of humor and generosity.

"He was always very interested in the common man," Clifford said. "He was passionate about the people who worked for him. He was a visionary, and his vision brought a lot of hopes to light."

Engelstad grew up in Thief River Falls, Minn., and graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1954, where he was a talented hockey goalie. Engelstad moved to Las Vegas in 1959, using the profits from his construction company and real estate investments to buy a Strip motel on the site of what is now the Imperial Palace.

Engelstad built and opened the new property in 1979, and the property now has 2,700 hotel rooms and 2,600 employees, the second-largest sole proprietorship hotel in the world.

Engelstad opened an Imperial Palace resort in Biloxi, Miss., in 1997, and, along with Sahara owner Bill Bennett, developed and sold the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He is survived by Betty Engelstad, his wife of 48 years; daughter Kris Engelstad McGarry, who read a poem at Tuesday's service, son-in-law Tim McGarry, two grandchildren and two sisters.

Morelli acknowledged Engelstad's readiness to face controversy, a reference to his battles to keep his college's Fighting Sioux nickname and a late '80s controversy over parties he held commemorating the death of Adolf Hitler, for which he was fined $1.5 million by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

"He fought (controversy) off," Morelli said. "If he didn't, he'd have been an ordinary plain-Jane Norwegian."