The list of Las Vegas gaming pioneers got shorter last week when Burton Cohen passed away in his sleep at the age of 90. Cohen was active in the gaming industry until the end, serving as a board member for MGM Resorts.
Cohen arrived in Las Vegas in 1966, after building and supervising resorts in Miami, as co-owner and general manager of the Frontier casino. Soon afterwards, he worked with developer Jay Sarno to build and operate the first themed resort in Las Vegas, Circus Circus. Later, he worked at the Flamingo, Caesars Palace, Thunderbird and Dunes.
But it is the Desert Inn where Cohen made his name. He managed the property in the 1970s and returned in the 1980s to return it to prominence at the request of his friend Kirk Kerkorian. He retired from active management in 1995, but retained his position with MGM.
“Burton was a dear friend and trusted colleague for more than 50 years,” Kerkorian said in a statement. “I am very saddened to learn of his passing and want to offer my heartfelt thoughts to Linda and their entire family. Burt was a special person and I am deeply honored to have known him and called him a friend.”
“Burton left an indelible imprint on Las Vegas-style hospitality as we know it today,” said Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts International. “He was a legend in our industry. He was a courageous man and an innovator who quickly rose to the top of our industry ranks, and played an instrumental role in the growth of tourism in Nevada over many decades.”
Bill Bible, former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, called Cohen, “a gaming pioneer who was very knowledgeable about the industry and was a man with a great sense of humor.”
“Burton was a regular in the breakfast crowd at Bagelmania (on East Twain Avenue) and after every meal, he would break half a bagel into tiny pieces and feed the pigeons under the canopy on the sidewalk outside the restaurant,” Bible said. “He even named some of the pigeons who showed up every day for those scraps.”
“He was generous, kind, totally trustworthy and very smart. When I served on the commission, I could always call Burton, ask him a question about gaming and know I would get a straight-up, honest answer,” former Nevada Gaming Commission member Art Marshall said. “He was very well liked in the industry and loved by those who worked for him.”
Former Governor Bob Miller said Cohen’s easy-going personality was welcome everywhere in Las Vegas.
He had no peers in his combination of charm and wit,” Miller said. “As recently as a few weeks ago he had me rolling in laughter. He was as spry and active as someone half his age. Las Vegas changed in many ways in his nearly 50 years here but Burton’s insight was always relevant.”
Current Governor Brian Sandoval paid tribute.
“Burton was a great man who helped shape his community and had a positive impact on those he came in contact with,” Sandoval said. “He was a leader in his industry and his community, and without question will be deeply missed.”
Cohen was elected to the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame in 1995.
“Burton Cohen was a giant in our industry who made countless contributions to the growth and success of gaming,” the organization said in a release. “The AGA was proud to recognize Burton when we inducted him into the Gaming Hall of Fame nearly 20 years ago, yet Las Vegas and the entire gaming industry remain indebted to him for his decades of leadership. The industry’s thoughts are with Burton’s family as they mourn his passing.”
