Sarann Knight Preddy

Sarann Knight Preddy was the first black woman to receive a Nevada gaming license. When she first arrived in Vegas in 1942, she got a job writing KENO tickets in the Cotton Club on the historically segregated Westside. Early on she had her eye on the Moulin Rouge, which accepted black guests and entertainers in a time when segregation was resisted. Preddy went on to buy the Lincoln Bar, her first club after gettingher gaming licence. She later became the owner of the Moulin Rouge, which she is most noted for. The hotel-casino was the site of the meeting in 1960 that led to an agreement between civil rights leaders and casino owners to allow African Americans to gamble at Strip and downtown properties.