Thursday, November 28, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Gaming executive Engelstad dies at 72

Controversial owner of Imperial Palace known for generosity

Ralph Engelstad Lived in Las Vegas since 1959

Following a 20-month battle with lung cancer, gaming executive Ralph Engelstad died Tuesday at his Las Vegas home. He was 72.

Regarded as both a generous philanthropist and lightning rod for controversy, Engelstad was best known as developer and owner of the Imperial Palace hotel-casino properties in Las Vegas and Biloxi, Miss.

A local resident since 1959, Engelstad earned numerous awards for giving millions of dollars to various charitable causes. However, his alleged interest in Nazi memorabilia and support of an athletic program whose name some deemed offensive to American Indians helped make Engelstad infamous as well.

In the 1970s, Engelstad's company converted a small motel site into the Imperial Palace, which at 2,700 rooms trails only The Venetian as the largest sole proprietorship hotel in the world.

Engelstad's wife of 48 years, Betty, issued a statement Wednesday that said her husband's businesses would continue normal operations.

"Before his passing, Ralph took all necessary steps to ensure the continuity of his businesses, including the Imperial Palace," she said. "(I), with the advice and assistance of Ralph's longtime attorney, Owen Nitz, and accountant, Jeff Cooper, will oversee the hotel and casino's continuing operations under the able management of (general manager) Ed Crispell and all the many other very loyal department heads and employees."

Casino industry expert and UNLV professor Bill Thompson said people will monitor events at the Imperial Palace closely over the next months.

"The problem for Vegas is succession," Thompson said. "I hope (Engelstad) had the type of management team that can carry on without him to give direction. If (his heirs) sell, it'll bring a big price."

Those close to Engelstad are looking ahead, but his name conjures unpleasant memories for many Americans.

In February 1989, Engelstad was fined $1.5 million by the Nevada Gaming Commission after it found that his actions damaged the reputation and image of the state's gaming industry.

In both 1986 and 1988, the commission said Engelstad hosted parties at the Imperial Palace that celebrated Adolf Hitler on the April 20 anniversary of the Nazi leader's birth. State authorities also claimed Engelstad amassed a multimillion-dollar collection of Nazi-era war memorabilia including artifacts, propaganda, posters and weapons.

Political leaders, tourism officials and members of the city's Jewish community, then consisting of about 35,000 people, demanded an apology. Still, Nitz said Wednesday that Engelstad's pro-Nazi reputation was unfounded.

"Those accusations are false," said Nitz, who represented Engelstad for more than 40 years and said Engelstad agreed to apologize and pay the fine only to put the incident behind him.

"The controversy was not Ralph at all. He was a construction guy, had always been a contractor and was used to construction-yard humor. Quite frankly, what came out as an accusation (of Nazism) was absolutely untrue," Nitz said.

"(Engelstad) was merely a student of history ... who had no interest in Nazism or Hitler or anybody else, other than the fact that he'd bought a lot of cars that were made in Germany before the war because he saw an opportunity to make a great deal of money with them."

Engelstad's collection of more than 350 rare and antique automobiles remains a popular Strip tourist attraction.

Crispell also spoke out for his longtime employer Wednesday. "We want Ralph to be remembered for the good he did," said Crispell, who worked for Engelstad since 1986.

Years after the Nazi debacle, Engelstad again drew criticism over a 1998 pledge to pay for a $104 million hockey arena at his alma mater, the University of North Dakota. American Indian groups said Engelstad forced the university to maintain its athletic teams' Fighting Sioux nickname and symbols as a condition of his financial support.

Published reports said American Indian students, faculty and alumni at the university felt the name was racist, and university President Charles Kupchella reportedly considered a change in names.

However, Engelstad told the state's Board of Higher Education that he would withdraw his financial support for the arena if the name was changed, and the board voted to keep the Fighting Sioux title, reports said.

Ralph Engelstad Arena opened in October 2001.

On Wednesday, Kupchella called Engelstad the university's "most generous benefactor" and praised his contributions to the university.

"He envisioned the university as a world-class institution, and he was going to do his part to assist in sustaining that vision. The magnificent Ralph Engelstad Arena testifies to that goal and to his commitment," Kupchella said.

Controversy surrounding the Fighting Sioux issue lingered even after Engelstad's death. On Wednesday, the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald published an article outlining a dispute in which Engelstad wrote a letter to university professor Sharon Carson in which he claimed he would "fire (her) ass" if he ran the university.

Carson had been critical of the school's decision to keep the Fighting Sioux name, the Herald said.

Closer to home, several prominent Nevadans spoke favorably of Engelstad on Wednesday.

Michael Gaughan, managing partner and chairman of Coast Resorts, said he will miss Engelstad.

"He danced to the beat of a different drummer, and he was one of the most honorable guys in town," Gaughan said. "(In) over 35 years of doing business with Ralph, once he said he'd do something, he'd never back down.

"Ralph was a very, very quiet guy. He donated a lot of money to charities but never let them thank him. He was very involved in town but never wanted any publicity over what he gave away."

Richard Bryan, a former U.S. senator and Nevada governor, praised Engelstad's business skills.

"It harkens back to an era when an individual could invest in a minor property and transform it into a major operation," Bryan said. "Engelstad was a self-made man in Las Vegas who transformed a motel property into a significant hotel complex. It's unlikely we'll see the likes of that again."

One of five children raised by Christian and Madeline Engelstad, Ralph Louis Engelstad was born Jan. 28, 1930, in Thief River Falls, Minn. Through a combination of odd jobs and a hockey scholarship, he financed his college education and earned a business degree in 1954.

Soon after college, Engelstad launched a construction company in Grand Forks. Although the business quickly made him a millionaire, a secured government housing contract and the desert's warm weather prompted him to move to Las Vegas in 1959.

"I don't like cold weather. Don't like it at all," Engelstad told the Review-Journal in 1982.

In 1965, Engelstad purchased Thunderbird Field (now the North Las Vegas Air Terminal) and later acquired some nearby vacant property. In 1967 and 1968, he sold the properties to billionaire developer Howard Hughes for a reported $2.5 million.

Using his profits from the Hughes deal, Engelstad later bought and sold the Klondike Hotel. In 1971, he bought a 9-acre site on Las Vegas Boulevard South that formerly housed the Flamingo-Capri Motel. After demolishing that property, Engelstad's construction company built the Imperial Palace, which opened in 1979 with 650 hotel rooms.

By the time of Engelstad's death, the Imperial Palace had expanded significantly and employed nearly 2,600 people.

In 1997, a second Imperial Palace property opened in Biloxi with 1,086 rooms.

Engelstad also joined with Sahara owner Bill Bennett to build a 1,500-acre Las Vegas Motor Speedway complex in 1996. They sold the property to Concord, N.C.-based Speedway Motorsports in 1998.

Chris Powell, president and general manager of the race track, said those at Speedway Motorsports are indebted to Engelstad. "It was Mr. Engelstad's vision that contributed in large part to the decision to build this wonderful facility," Powell said.

Along with his wife, Engelstad is survived by a daughter, Kris, and her husband, Tim; two sisters, Mary Tulper and Phyllis Dooley; and two grandchildren.

His funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church, 3050 Alta Drive, east of Valley View Boulevard.

Engelstad will be interred at Palm Memorial Gardens, 7600 S. Eastern Ave.

Donations may be mailed to the Engelstad Family Foundation for Lung Cancer Research, 5851 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102.

Gaming Wire writer Rod Smith contributed to this report.