Debbie Reynolds never hit the jackpot as a casino owner. (Image: eBay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Debbie Reynolds was best known for housing its own MGM movie museum, whose artifacts included pair of Dorothy\u2019s ruby slippers from \u201cThe Wizard of Oz.\u201d (Five are known to survive.)<\/p>\n
But the property\u2019s gaming — operated by Jackpot Enterprises — was never enough of a hit to keep Reynolds\u2019 dream financially afloat. Despite going public in 1994 to raise funds, the casino closed in 1996.<\/p>\n
Due to the company\u2019s poor financial state, Reynolds was unable to obtain a gaming license to reopen it herself. Chapter 11 bankruptcy was declared in 1997.<\/p>\n
Times of the Sign<\/h2>\n The sign — based on Reynolds\u2019 signature and installed above a movie reel that replaced the previous casino\u2019s paddlewheel — was delivered to the Neon Museum in 2004. Since then, it’s been displayed among the museum\u2019s more than 250 non-functional neon signs.<\/p>\n
But its \u201cDebbie\u201d portion will be restored thanks to donations from Todd Fisher (Reynolds\u2019 son), the Debbie Reynolds Estate, and the YESCO sign company.<\/p>\n
There is no word yet on when the restored sign will be relighted.<\/p>\nThe 24-foot-long fuchsia \u201cDebbie\u201d sign from the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Casino gets delivered to the Neon Museum\u2019s backyard, called the Neon Boneyard, in 2004. (The Neon Museum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhat Occupies the Casino’s Space Now?<\/h2>\n A year after the Debbie Reynolds closed, the World Wrestling Foundation (WWF) — today\u2019s World Wrestling Entertainment <\/em>\u2013 purchased the property at auction for $10.6 million. Vince and Linda McMahon had planned to bulldoze and replace it with a $100 million new casino hotel called the WWF.<\/p>\nObviously, their dream never even got off the ground. From 2001 to 2009, the property continued life as the Greek Isles Hotel, then as the Clarion Hotel and Casino from 2009 to 2014.<\/p>\n
It was finally demolished in 2015, and its former footprint will now supposedly become developer Lorenzo Doumani\u2019s $850 million Majestic Las Vegas hotel.<\/p>\nDebbie Reynolds sings and dances in 1952’s \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain.\u201d (Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nDebbie\u2019s Legacy<\/h2>\n Reynolds was best known for starring in movies including 1952\u2019s \u201cSingin\u2019 in the Rain,\u201d for topping the Billboard<\/em> charts with the song \u201cTammy\u201d in 1957, and for having her own TV variety show in 1969.<\/p>\nShe became a resident of Las Vegas in 1962, the same year she kicked off her holiday spectacular at the Riviera, which paid her a then-record $1 million for three months of annual shows.<\/p>\n
Gen-Xers and Millennials would later come to know her best as the mother of Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Princess Leia in the original \u201cStar Wars\u201d trilogy.<\/p>\n
Mother and daughter were extremely close throughout their lives. In fact, most fans don\u2019t consider it a coincidence that Reynolds died on Dec. 28, 2016, only a day after her daughter’s untimely death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas is putting a vintage Hollywood starlet’s name back in lights. On Wednesday, in the museum\u2019s Neon Boneyard, a portion of the signage that once fronted the Debbie Reynolds Hollywood Hotel and Casino was lifted by crane to the area it will be worked on until ready to relight. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":325978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886],"tags":[91778,13363,91784,91777,91783,82389,23,82012,91782,91781,84830,91780,91779],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Neon Museum to Restore Debbie Reynolds Las Vegas Casino Sign - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n