Then the workers carted the machines away, padlocked the trailer and left the site of the famous Moulin Rouge to its singing, dancing, wining, dining, hip-shaking, history-making ghosts. And so, last June, workers carried 16 bulky video-poker machines into what locals called a “pop-up casino,” where eight hours of gambling generated a total take of less than $100. This desolate city block had practically no value except as the site of a hotel-casino that closed more than 50 years ago. That was the point: Due to one of myriad quirks of Nevada law, some form of gambling must occur here every two years or the owners lose their gaming license. A banner strapped to the trailer announced that this was the “Site of the Famous Moulin Rouge Casino!”
Outside, weeds sprouted through the sun-scorched pavement of a forlorn stretch of Bonanza Road near Three Star Auto Body and Didn’tDoIt Bail Bonds.
Inside, gamblers in shorts, T-shirts and baseball caps fed quarters into video-poker machines. The newest casino in Vegas was a 40-foot trailer in a vacant lot.
