Name/Title
Railroad Pass Hotel CasinoEntry/Object ID
MS.41Scope and Content
Railroad Pass Hotel Casino
MS 41
Railroad Pass Hotel Casino
The Railroad Pass Casino held its grand opening on August 1, 1931 in the mountain pass three miles west of Boulder City on US 93/95. The casino's opening was a repudiation of the Bureau of Reclamation's rules banning liquor, gaming, and prostitution in Boulder City or anywhere on the Boulder Canyon Project Federal Reservation—Railroad Pass stood just beyond the reservation line. The Pass was one of the most popular hangouts for workers during dam construction years and to this day remains a familiar landmark on the road between Boulder City and Las Vegas. In 1985-86 the city of Henderson annexed Railroad Pass when Boulder City declined to do so in order not to compromise Boulder's gambling prohibition. In the late 1980s, the casino added a hotel tower.
MS 41 contains news clippings detailing the history of Railroad Pass from the 1930s through the 1990s, a small collection of ephemera, and promotional and publicity material from the files of Dorothy Bennett, who was the casino's PR director in the early 1980s.
* * *Collection
ManuscriptsArchive Items Details
Notes
MS 41
Railroad Pass Hotel Casino
inventory
[1 box]
Box 1 of 1 ff no.
1. employee list [2 pp (c. 1970s-80s)] 1
2. employee questionnaire [c. 1982-85] 2
3. employees of the month [1984-85] 3
4. ephemera: "A History of Railroad Pass Casino, 1931 - 1982" 4
5. ephemera: invitation to the grand opening celebration
[October 3-6, 1985] 5
6. ephemera - coupon: bingo game [free (c. 1970s-80s] 6
7. ephemera - coupons [c. 1980s] 7
8. ephemera - menu [2nd anniversary specials (August - September
1977)] 8
9. ephemera - napkin [c. 1940s-50s] 9
10. ephemera - tickets: annual dinner for the Boulder City
Chamber of Commerce [January 11, 1952] 10
11. events - St. Jude's Chili Cook-off [November 10, 1984] 11
12. events - Thirty-Oners [1985] 12
13. history - "Law enforcement men were kept busy ... "
[c. 1970s-80s] 13
14. history - notes 14
15. history - personal recollections [1970s-80s] 15
16. news clippings [1930s] 16
17. news clippings [1940s] 17
18. news clippings [1950s] 18
19. news clippings [1960s] 19
20. news clippings [1970s] 20
21. news clippings [1980s] 21
22. news clippings [1990s] 22
23. news clippings [n. d.] 23
24. photographs 24
25. publication - Casino Express [1986] 25
26. publication - Railroad Pass Time-Table [1980s] 26
27. publicity [1970s] 27
28. publicity - article: "Railroad Pass Casino Puffing Along at 54,"
by Dorothy Bennett [Las Vegas Review-Journal "Nevadan,"
Sunday, May 5, 1985, pp. 14L-15L] 28
29. publicity - correspondence [1982] 29
30. publicity - "Dollar Saver" advertisement [1982] 30
31. publicity - newspaper layout sheet [1985] 31
32. publicity - press releases [1983-85] 32
33. publicity - press releases [n. d.] 33
* * *Location
Location
* Untyped Location
Basement ArchivesDate
March 10, 2025Relationships
Related Entries
Notes
subject file [Hotel/Casinos - Henderson: Railroad Pass]
photographsCreated By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
September 18, 2002Updated By
bcmha.archives@gmail.comUpdate Date
September 3, 2025