By: Oskar Garcia, Associated Press Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP).- Workers on Thursday demolished the tower of the first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas, one day after city officials turned down an appeal of its owners’ demolition permit. The white tower of the Moulin Rouge hotel-casino, which opened in 1955 and played host to headliners including Sammy Davis Jr., Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra, was pulled down by cables after initial attempts failed and the structure resisted. “To them, it’s blight. To me, it’s history,” said Pat Hershwitzky, secretary for a group trying to preserve as much of the Moulin Rouge and its history as possible. The Moulin Rouge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hershwitzky said she planned to ask city officials and site owners Olympic Coast Investment Inc. to save as much of what’s left of the site as possible. She said her group would try to find a new place to house the casino’s remaining artifacts. The casino made its mark