Italo Ghelfi; Nevada Gaming Pioneer
Italo Ghelfi, 76, a Nevada gaming pioneer who opened the Golden Gate Hotel in downtown Las Vegas in 1955. Ghelfi, the son of an Italian immigrant, owned taverns in Oakland in the early 1950s when he visited Las Vegas and became attracted to the gambling business and the small-town atmosphere. He bought a hotel and added a casino, renaming the property the Golden Gate. It became a popular meeting place for the city’s political and business elite. Ghelfi remained active in running the hotel until about two years ago when lung cancer began to drain his energy. In Las Vegas on Tuesday.
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