Postal Service inspector asked Laughlin to give a name to the area post office in order to receive mail. The Town of Laughlin is believed to have received its name when a U.S. Accommodations at the Riverside were available in only four of the motel's eight rooms Laughlin's family occupied the remaining four. Play at the casino was on twelve slot machines and two live gaming tables. In less than two years the Riverside Resort was entertaining guests not only with gambling but with all-you-can-eat chicken dinners for 98 cents. Though the landowner had several offers, he decided to sell the property to Laughlin because of his previous casino background. Soon after, he purchased a shuttered, eight-room riverfront motel on 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) for US$250,000. It was during that flight that Laughlin envisioned the potential of the area as a resort destination. The area was also a major stop along Route 66. Growth in the area, specifically in Bullhead City and Kingman in Arizona, and Needles in California, was spurred by the construction of nearby Davis Dam, completed in 1951. That same year, Laughlin was flying his private plane over the California/Arizona/Nevada tri-state area near the Colorado River. Laughlin moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in the late 1950s and purchased his first casino, the '101 Club.' By 1964, Laughlin had sold the 101 Club.

He was making $500 a week when his school principal gave him an ultimatum: get out of slots or get out of school. He took the profits and used them to purchase slot machines for installation in hunting lodges. Early life Ī native of Owatonna, Minnesota, Laughlin worked winters during his youth as a fur trapper.

Donald Joseph Laughlin (– October 22, 2023) was an American gambling entrepreneur, hotelier, and rancher for whom the town of Laughlin, Nevada, is named.

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