The Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas is an icon of the city’s beginnings. It was the first racially-integrated casino in the city, although for just a short amount of time, and was the site of a historic meeting in 1960 that led to the desegregation of the Vegas Strip and Vegas Downtown. However, it lost all of its shine in later years and has sat vacant, waiting for someone to come along and breathe some new air into it. That someone has arrived, and an investment company out of Australia, BBC Capital, is now the proud owner of the iconic property.
The Moulin Rouge has seen better days and, over the past several years, has managed to survive general neglect, fires and other problems that threatened its position on the Vegas landscape. However, indicative of its stubbornness in the face of massive racial discrimination, it has persevered for over 60 years to remain a part of the city. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that BBC Capital was approved to purchase the property a couple of weeks ago, with the deal being closed this past Friday.
The recent history of the property has been just as difficult as its beginnings. 300 investors had put up money to revamp the casino prior to the recession of 2008 but, when the real estate bubble burst and the economy flipped upside down, so did everything related to the property. The developer brought in to oversee the revitalization efforts went bankrupt and the company that had collected investor funds to give the developer a $19-million loan also went out of business. That led, in 2013, to the property being placed in receivership.
The courts assigned Kevin Hanchett as the receiver, responsible for finding a buyer and helping investors recover their lost funds. There have been several offers that have appeared since then; however, nothing solid ever emerged. The most promising lead was last year when the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority was considering a purchase of the property. Like all other attempts, though, that one fell flat, as well.