Laughlin is survived by one sister, three children, five grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Laughlin became a revered figure who would greet staff and guests while strolling through the hotel and casino. Many of his employees were Arizona residents. In 1991, he donated land and the funds for Laughlin/Bullhead City International Airport. In 1986, Laughlin bankrolled the construction of the Laughlin Bridge connecting Nevada and Arizona. His influence on the region only grew from there. It was the inspector who suggested his surname, according to the Riverside Resort’s website.
Postal Service inspector told the casino owner he needed a name to receive mail. It was two years later that the area became Laughlin. Laughlin bought a boarded-up motel and 6 acres (2.4 hectares) along the riverfront. Laughlins nine casino resorts (ten if you count the Avi) offer an inexpensive place to vacation and gamble that largely attracts senior citizens.
Across the river is Bullhead City, Arizona, with a population of about 40,000. He visited the Mohave Desert and saw a stretch of land called Tri-State was unoccupied. Laughlin is a small city of about 7,000 people located on the Colorado River near the southern tip of Nevada.
In 1964, 10 years after buying a gambling business in North Las Vegas, Laughlin sold it for $165,000, according to his biography posted on the resort’s website. Laughlin died Sunday at his penthouse home at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Diana Fuchs, the resorts marketing director, said Monday. “I said, ‘I’m making three times what you are, so I’m out the door,’” Laughlin recalled to the Review-Journal.
