Carson City-born Hazel Huey Lee dreamed of being a Las Vegas showgirl and her dream came true in the 1950s. Chinese Americans and Chinese from abroad were so numerous that many casinos featured Chinese restaurants.Īfter World War II, Chinese entertainers became popular. Las Vegas soon became known as Sin City to some and gained international fame as the world’s entertainment capital. The Joe Shoong Park and Richard Tam Park honor each of the men. Shoong delegated the development of his Las Vegas properties to his son-in-law Richard Tam (1916-1999,) a Hawaiian-born land developer who was known for his projects around the Station Casino on Sahara Avenue and who opened his Town Hall Hotel and Casino (1985-1999) on Koval Lane. The popular store, closing in the 1970s, appealed to the low and middle-classes and had Caucasian salespeople and Chinese American managers. Penney’s as part of his chain of 55 stores.

In 1952 Joe Shoong (1879-1961,) one of the first Chinese American millionaires and whom “Time Magazine” called “the richest and best-known Chinese American businessman in America,” opened National Dollar Store in Las Vegas on Fremont Street opposite J. Neon Museum 2021 Scholar in Residence PART II: More Gaming, Entertainment, And Foodīeginning in the 1950s to 1960s the new immigration laws and the civil rights movement opened new opportunities for Chinese Americans in entertainment, gaming, local government, education, and other areas.

Las vegas casinos 1980's