Haven't seen any mention of it here, but Imperial Palace (both Vegas and Biloxi) owner Ralph Engelstad died last Tuesday of cancer. To my knowledge, he was the last sole proprietor of a major casino in the United States.
Engelstad was a touch ol' SOB, and independent to a fault. He riled up a lot of folks in Biloxi when he built the IP down there, but didn't give a rip. He caught holy hell for hosting a party with an Adolf Hitler theme some years back, though he apolgoized many times over. He was a goalie on the University of North Dakota hockey teams back in the 1950s, and donated more than $100 million to his alma mater to build a new hockey arena there -- but held up the gift until the school fired an athletic director he didn't like. Vintage "Uncle Ralph," to the end.
