The Moulin Rouge Agreement (1960) was the watershed event that ended official segregation in Las Vegas casinos and hotels. Prior to this, Las Vegas was known as the "Mississippi of the West," where Black entertainers could perform but not stay or gamble.

The Threat

The catalyst for change was an ultimatum issued by Dr. James McMillan and the NAACP, threatening a massive protest march down the Strip that would cripple the tourism economy. National television would broadcast images of discrimination in America's playground.

The Meeting

To avoid the march, casino owners, mediated by newspaper publisher Hank Greenspun and Governor Grant Sawyer, met with NAACP leaders at the closed Moulin Rouge Hotel—the city's first integrated resort, which had opened briefly in 1955.

The Agreement

The casino owners verbally agreed to immediate desegregation to protect their revenue streams. Within days, the most visible forms of segregation disappeared. Money trumped racism.

The Legacy

This event highlighted the gaming industry's tendency to prioritize economic stability over social ideology, paving the way for the eventual integration of the city's workforce. When discrimination became bad for business, it ended.