Published on: November 5, 2025, 04:16h.
Updated on: November 5, 2025, 04:17h.
In 1971, Ralph Engelstad purchased the dilapidated Flamingo Capri motel and gradually transformed it into the Imperial Palace (IP) — a towering casino characterized by an Asian theme, featuring a vintage car museum and an intriguing historical controversy. (We will elaborate on that aspect shortly.)
Engelstad, known for constructing the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, had a profound passion for automobiles, amassing a personal collection of approximately 200 classic cars. He converted the fifth floor of the IP’s parking garage into a dedicated exhibition hall spanning 125,000 square feet.
The “Imperial Palace Auto Collection,” accessible to the public at no charge, featured vehicles owned by notable figures such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the notorious gangster Al Capone, filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, and General Douglas MacArthur.
Upon its debut on December 1, 1981, the collection was reported to be valued at $10 million (equivalent to $33 million today).
Controversial Collections
However, Engelstad’s fascination with this figure extended much further than mere automobile collecting and WWII artifacts.
A New York Times investigation uncovered that he hosted extravagant birthday celebrations for this figure in 1986 and 1988 within a concealed 3,000-square-foot “war room” in the IP. During these events, bartenders donned T-shirts promoting “Adolf Hitler European Tour 1939-45.”
When the allegations surfaced in 1989, Engelstad faced a hefty $1.5 million fine from the Nevada Gaming Control Board — the second-largest penalty at the time — for “compromising Nevada’s reputation by glorifying Hitler and the Third Reich.”
But let’s steer back to the cars!
Transformation of the Exhibit
By the year 2000, Engelstad was battling terminal lung cancer and made the decision to liquidate most of his assets as he prepared for retirement in his Cayman Islands residence.
While he kept the IP, he opted to sell off its car collection, assigning the responsibility to auto collectors Richie Clyne and Don Williams. However, they proposed a different vision — converting the museum into a showroom where all displayed items were available for purchase.
This led to the rebranded “Auto Collections at Imperial Palace,” offering a rotating selection of vintage cars where the favorite from your previous visit could have been acquired by someone from a different state.
The Final Farewell
Engelstad passed away in 2002, and a year later, the IP was sold to the entity that evolved into Caesars Entertainment. By 2014, the property underwent a name change and renovation, becoming first the Quad and then the Linq.
Meanwhile, the Auto Collections pressed on but gradually lost visitors each year, until only about 65 vehicles remained, leading Caesars to terminate their lease.
Online auctions and classic car websites did little to enhance foot traffic, and former assistant curator John Workman suggested potential financial misconduct towards the Engelstad family and the consignors. (This assertion, made in a recent interview with thevegastourist.com, is still unverified.)
All remaining cars were either sold or returned to their owners by the closure date of December 30, 2017.
“Lost Vegas” is a recurring series from Casino.org that highlights the overlooked narratives of Las Vegas history. Click here to explore more posts in the series. Have an intriguing Vegas story from history? Reach out to [email protected].