Brad Billington

Feb 1, 2023 | newsbreak.com | Brad Billington

Anna Bailey, the first Black showgirl on the Las Vegas strip, was in huge demand in the 1960s, but she couldn't even walk in the front doors at some of the same casinos where she performed. The Moulin Rouge, which opened in May of 1955, was the first casino Bailey worked when she moved to Las Vegas from New York. It was built in the majority Black West Side of Las Vegas so the hotel and casino could be integrated and it was the first racially integrated casino-resort in the country.

Feb 1, 2023 | abcnews.go.com | Tesfaye Negussie |Sabina Ghebremedhin |Brad Billington |Margie Merritt

Black performers integrated the "Mississippi of the West." Anna Bailey, the first Black showgirl on the Las Vegas strip, was in huge demand in the 1960s, but she couldn't even walk in the front doors at some of the same casinos where she performed. The Moulin Rouge, which opened in May of 1955, was the first casino Bailey worked when she moved to Las Vegas from New York.