PART I: EARLY YEARS
Chinese noodles, chow mein, and fried rice were favorites of early Las Vegans.
Although the Chinese represented a small percentage of Las Vegas’ population — 0.5 percent in 1990 (but growing rapidly,) they have made numerous contributions to the development of Las Vegas. In 1905 the sparsely populated Las Vegas Valley became important provisioning, fueling, and watering stop for the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad (later Union Pacific). The Chinese were among the first settlers in the new train town to help in its development.
The Chinese originally immigrated from Guangdong and, to a lesser extent, Fujian provinces and were attracted by occupations like mining, railroad construction, logging, irrigation work, and the service industry.
Chinese miners wandered into northern Nevada in the 1850s and established Chinatowns in Dayton, Genoa, Gold Canyon, Virginia City, and elsewhere. A small group worked in wood charcoal making in the Mount Charleston area in the 1870s. The charcoal was used as fuel in mining and later in train engines.
Throughout the American West, the Chinese were noted for their laundry and restaurant businesses and, in that sense, Las Vegas was typical. In 1905 Ying Lee opened his laundry to serve the predominantly male population and three years later went into partnership with Man Ying and Chin Yee to purchase the Arrowhead Restaurant. A year later they sold the restaurant to Wong Kee, a cook at the Colorado Hotel, and soon the Arrowhead became a popular eating place for railroad workers, train passengers, and tourists. In an advertisement for his Shady Café, Wong Kee noted that he served chop suey, noodles, and other dishes and also sold goods from China.
Prejudice and racism were part of the fabric of 19th and early 20th-century American society’s belief in white racial superiority, which led to violence and discrimination. Congress passed a series of restrictive Chinese acts, beginning with the 1882 Restrictive Act (aka Chinese Exclusion Act) prohibiting Chinese laborers from entering the U.S., the 1892 Geary Act extending and redefining the 1882 Act, and others culminating in the 1924 Nationality Quota Act that limited the number of Chinese exempt class immigrants, such as students and merchants and their family, to 106 annually. The Geary Act expanded the meaning of laborers to include women who were not married to merchants, physicians, western-trained ministers, and many others.
Racism and discrimination were widespread. Local and regional laws were harsh. Violence, prejudice, and killings were commonplace. Schoolchildren also suffered. For example, in February 1921, a Las Vegas grammar school teacher beat a 14-year-old Chinese boy so severely that he lost the use of his legs. Despite the newspaper publicity, teasing, hurtful remarks, rock-throwing, and violent attacks continued against the Chinese, both young and old. Job discrimination also limited what the educated Chinese American could do to earn a living in these early years. Before 1944, it was not uncommon to have college graduates still working as waiters, cooks, and laundrymen. The situation did not change until the 1950s and 1960s.
The arrival of the Fong family eventually made a positive impact on Las Vegas. Wee King Fong and his oldest son Sui Mon Fong had served on the staff of General John G. Pershing (1860-1948) in his campaign against Pancho Villa. In 1917, as a reward, Pershing got the Fongs admitted to the United States despite the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. They eventually settled in Las Vegas and brought a younger brother, Sui Hui Fong, to open the Rainbow Café on 1st and Carson with a $40 investment. No one ever left the Rainbow Café hungry and they had a reputation for their kindness throughout the community. Their business prospered and in 1933 they opened the Silver Café on North 1st and Fremont with an all-electric kitchen and 24-hour service that catered to railroad workers, tourists, and the locals. In 1939 they charged, for example, seventy-five cents for a complete dinner, including pie for dessert, and featured slot machines. It was one of three restaurants in town.
The Chinese Garden matchbook. Richard Fukutaki Collection, The Neon Museum.
At first, the fronts of Chinese restaurants were indistinguishable from others but gradually some adopted Chinese architectural designs and added neon lights around the 1930s and 1940s.
Many Chinese restaurants had attractive signs, not unlike this one from China Garden Cafe in Cedar City, Utah. This is currently the only sign from a Chinese restaurant at The Neon Museum and the only one not from Nevada.
The pace of life in Las Vegas remained slow until the start of construction in the early 1930s of the enormous hydroelectric Hoover Dam. State regulations governing the construction of the dam, which were written in 1902, prohibited the hiring of Chinese workers on the dam project. In 1941 Nellis Air Force Base opened. In the 1940s and 1950s, Harry Yam L Won and Fred Lee opened more Chinese restaurants to serve the growing tourist industry and those involved in the dam and air force base.
Like the majority of Chinese restaurants in Nevada, both Chinese and American dishes were featured. The influx of new people also led to the development of more casinos and entertainment centers.
The 1930s saw the legalization of gambling in Nevada. The Chinese, who had operated unofficial gaming facilities since the late 1850s, sought to participate in legalized gambling that would attract low to middle-income clients of all races, especially African Americans who were prohibited from participating in most gaming halls. In 1931 Woo Sing unsuccessfully applied for a gaming license in Clark County, then opened a modern supper club called “China Town” on South Main, complete with neon lights, a famous chef from New York, and two well-known female entertainers, Bo Ling and Bo Ching, who later went on to work in Hollywood films.
The Chinese found a niche in casino operations by opening in West Las Vegas.
In the 1940s, Harry Lee Fong and others opened the West Side Club and Zee Louie, with the backing of the powerful Binggongtang (Chinese Freemasons), opened the Chickadee (later renamed Louisiana) Club. From 1950 to 1970, Sui Mon Fong (Big Fong) and Gim Fong (Little Fong) opened the Town Tavern at 600 Jackson Avenue, which became known for its lounge performers, Chinese and African American employees and good food. From 1950 to 1956, Hawthorne-born William and Frank Kee, whose parents were friends of the political powerbroker George Wingfield (1876-1959,) opened the El Cid (later called El Rio) Club at 1905 North H Street. Noted for its hospitality and food, it quickly became very popular but a fire in 1956 that followed the famous Moulin Rouge (opened May-October 1955) bankruptcy, forced the doors to be closed. Willie died from a heart attack brought on by trying to put out the fire. In 1957, Frank sold the club to a conglomerate. In the late 1960s, Chinese American casino owners closed their doors as large casinos ended their racial discrimination policy. Chinese Americans still dreamed of casino ownership.
PART II: MORE GAMING, ENTERTAINMENT, & FOOD
Beginning in the 1950s to 1960s the new immigration laws and the civil rights movement opened new opportunities for Chinese Americans in entertainment, gaming, local government, education, and other areas.
In 1952 Joe Shoong (1879-1961,) one of the first Chinese American millionaires and whom “Time Magazine” called “the richest and best-known Chinese American businessman in America,” opened National Dollar Store in Las Vegas on Fremont Street opposite J. C. Penney’s as part of his chain of 55 stores. The popular store, closing in the 1970s, appealed to the low and middle-classes and had Caucasian salespeople and Chinese American managers. Shoong delegated the development of his Las Vegas properties to his son-in-law Richard Tam (1916-1999,) a Hawaiian-born land developer who was known for his projects around the Station Casino on Sahara Avenue and who opened his Town Hall Hotel and Casino (1985-1999) on Koval Lane. The Joe Shoong Park and Richard Tam Park honor each of the men.
Las Vegas soon became known as Sin City to some and gained international fame as the world’s entertainment capital. Chinese Americans and Chinese from abroad were so numerous that many casinos featured Chinese restaurants.
Flamingo and Sahara signs at The Neon Museum.
After World War II, Chinese entertainers became popular. Carson City-born Hazel Huey Lee dreamed of being a Las Vegas showgirl and her dream came true in the 1950s. GIs and others who visited Asia in the 1940s and 1950s enjoyed the Asian American performers like the Tong brothers at the Sahara and the numerous Chinese Americans entertainers at the Flamingo and other hotels. By the 1970s, some Chinese entertainers were headliners at the major casinos, especially during Chinese New Year’s (in January or February, according to the lunar calendar).
“Flower Drum Song” was featured at the Thunderbird and its popularity continued more recently at the Union Plaza. “The World of Susie Wong” was also popular. In the 1950s the Thunderbird Hotel also featured Hawaiian-born Frances Fong in the China Doll Revue. China-born Gia Mo, who performed at the Dunes, was one of the few strippers but Chinese American strip-tease acts had become popular in Winnemucca-born Charles Low’s famous Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco.
Hawaiian-born Frances Fong was among the many notable Chinese American entertainers on the Strip. She was part of the China Doll Revue at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino that attracted many former GIs and tourists. Like other Chinese American entertainers on the Strip, she later went onto Hollywood to continue her career. Source: Author
Chinese Americans achieved interesting “firsts.” In 1958 Moon Ong was the first Chinese dealer at the downtown Fremont Hotel and Casino; his wife Wanda, the first Chinese American Clark County employee (data processing) and their sons the first Chinese American Las Vegas firefighters. In 2011 Jerry Tao (b. 1966) became the first Chinese American district court judge, then advanced to the Nevada Court of Appeals (term 2014-2023). Chinese American female dealers made their debut in major casinos beginning in the 1970s.
Fremont Hotel matchbook. Anthony Bondi Collection, The Neon Museum, and Fremont Hotel sign in The Neon Museum’s North Gallery.
Beginning in the 1970s there was an increase in population and the growth of Chinese American businesses. Caesar’s Palace and other major casinos hired Asian entertainers, especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan, for a brief appearance during Chinese New Year’s as an enticement to the Asian gamblers. By the 1980s all of the major Las Vegas Strip casinos had fantastic Chinese New Year decorations and attractions. Chinese games were adapted and adopted in major casinos. Keno, pai gow, a type of domino game, and “high-low,” a dice game, all could be found in major casinos.
There were many Chinese Americans who contributed to life in Las Vegas but only a few are mentioned in this essay. In 1997 Theodore Bo and Doris Shoong (1919-2018) Lee and sons Gregory and Ernest, took over the Eureka Casino on Sahara Avenue then turned it over to the employees in 2015 but continued the family ownership of Eureka Casino and Hotel in Mesquite. Ted, a Harvard alumnus who served on the prestigious Harvard Board of Overseers, was an attorney by training. Ted and Doris were very active in the community, supported UNLV and the Las Vegas Symphony, and owned the Urban Land Development Company, which was active in Nevada, California, and elsewhere in the west. The UNLV Lee Business School is named in their honor. Their sons, Greg and Ernest, have carried on the Shoong-Lee tradition of being active in the community and serving on numerous boards.
Caption: Right to Left: Gregory and Dana Lee, daughter Kathie, Doris and Ted Lee, and Ernest and Greg’s son Graham have been involved in real estate development, casinos, and other enterprises in Las Vegas and parts of California. Credit: Aaron Mayes/UNLV Photo Services
Caption: The Eureka Casino at 595 East Sahara, featuring the restaurant “Fat Choy,” was owned and operated by the Lee family until 2015, when they turned over ownership to the employees as one of the few 100 percent employee-owned casinos. They kept the Eureka Casino and Hotel in Mesquite. Source: Author
Wing (1926-2005) and Lilly Fong (1925-2002) made numerous contributions to Las Vegas, especially in banking, business, land development, and philanthropy. Wing came to work with his uncles in the restaurant business in 1939 and in 1950 graduated from Woodbury College in Los Angeles with a business degree. Arizona-born Lilly was an elementary school teacher who met her husband in Los Angeles when they were in college. Lilly became the first public school teacher of Asian descent in Clark County and the first Chinese American elected to the Board of Regents of any American university (served 1984-1994). In 1955 Wing opened Fong’s Garden, popular for its Chinese dishes, on Fremont and Charleston in the hopes of establishing a commercial Chinatown. He was active in numerous clubs and a director of Nevada State Bank (opened 1967), major stockholder of Frontier Savings and Loan (c. 1964-1990) as well as many real estate projects. They were active in the community and very supportive of the university, which included funding a computer center in the UNLV business college (1987), and Vegas PBS. The UNLV Lilly Fong Geoscience Building was named in her honor. Among the many honors they received was the naming of the Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School in 1992.
Fong’s Garden Postcard. Anthony Bondi Collection, The Neon Museum.
Caption: Joined by Senator Richard Bryan and Secretary of State Cheryl Lau (right), Wing and Lilly Fong (left) attended the opening of the Wing and Lilly Fong Elementary School in 1992. They have the UNLV Business School Computer Center named in their honor as well as the UNLV Lilly Fong Geoscience Building. Source: Author
In 1990, Buck Wong broke ground for his engineering firm of Arcata Associates, Inc. Wong’s firm, which was started in 1975 in California, had over three hundred employees when it opened in North Las Vegas. The firm had contracts with Nellis Air Force Base as well as the FAA, NASA, and space programs in Texas. Wong’s role as a business leader eventually led to his election as president of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce in 1994. After his recent retirement, his son Lawrence “Tim” Wong assumed the leadership of the company, assisted by sister Nancy. All are active in the community.
In February 1995 a new Las Vegas Chinatown development opened on Spring Mountain Road, west of the Las Vegas Strip. This modern development, the only Chinatown in the state, represented a new concept combining both commercial and cultural attractions. There were several Asian restaurants, a Chinese bakery, a supermarket carrying fresh produce and foods from all over Asia, as well as a number of specialty shops. Chinatown has been the site of Pan-Asian festivals and performances. It has proven to be a great success, attracting not only Asian Americans but also Euro-Americans, who can learn about Chinese culture and traditions from display boards placed throughout the shopping complex and special programs. Asian businesses sprang up on Spring Mountain both east and west, making it a commercial center for Asian Americans.
Chinatown is a complex of Asian restaurants, shops, and other businesses on Spring Mountain Road near Arville. Its proximity to the Las Vegas Strip makes it a tourist destination. Cultural activities often are featured as this statue of the famous fable, “The Monkey King” and there are annual Chinese New Year’s celebrations. Going east and west for several miles along Spring Mountain Road, other Asian businesses opened and offer a variety of experiences. Source: Author
In 1990 Hawaiian-born attorney and music professor Cheryl Lau was elected Secretary of State, the first Chinese American to hold that honor, but was an unsuccessful candidate for the Governor and later Congress. She continued her career in many commissions and other positions.
Chinese Nevadans also gained international and national fame. Michael Chang of Henderson became an internationally acclaimed tennis player. Poet Stephen Liu and artist Bill Leaf, both of Las Vegas, also achieved international fame in their respective fields. Bertha Au of Las Vegas has represented the state in the National Educators Association and her daughter, Beth, was a Harry Reid staffer, one of the few Chinese Americans to hold a senatorial staffer position at that time. UNLV Professor Victor Kwong has made numerous discoveries in physics. Early physicians included radiologist James Lum (1929-2010), allergist Clifford C.H. Lee, and Boulder City-born gynecologist Fred D. Lee, supported by numerous Chinese American nurses. The list of achievements and recognition of Chinese American contributions to Las Vegas has become too long to fully acknowledge here.
By the 1960s and 1970s, an Asian American identity was forged but at the same time, with the increasing influx of new immigrants from all over China as the result of new immigration laws, the preservation of different separate national and regional identities was advocated. Many achievements were made. In the area of restaurants, Wynn’s Wing Lei Restaurant was the first Chinese restaurant in North America to receive a Michelin Star. Chinese Americans experienced some of the discrimination related to the bamboo or glass ceiling, but have been able to make greater and greater achievements in all fields as the decades passed. Ely-born and Las Vegas-educated Kathleen Ong married Stephen F. Sisolak in 2018 and became First Lady of Nevada in 2019. By the 1970s there was a growing acceptance of multiculturalism and minority rights but the battle against racism has continued and in 2020-2021 the violence against Chinese Americans escalated 150 to 250 percent due to then-President Trump’s labeling of Covid-19 as “Kung-flu” or “China flu.” With the growing number of multi-ethnic citizens (Las Vegas has one of the highest in the nation,) a greater acceptance of people of different cultures and ethnicity must be fostered.
*From the U.S. Census Bureau. The censuses after 1940 do not separate foreigners from citizens. The census data beginning in 2000 changes its categories.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung was born in Los Angeles, California and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. She began teaching history at UNLV in 1976 and retired in 2015 as professor emerita. She has served as UNLV Director of International Programs, Chairperson of UNLV History Department, member of the Nevada Board of Museums and History, Clark County Asian American Commissioner, National Endowment for the Humanities Grants Committee, National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisor, and consultant for the U.S. Forest Service. She has assisted in numerous museum and media presentations, including serving as executive producer of Vegas PBS, “Island Mountain Days.” She won the Bancroft Award for one of her books the Schmeidel Award for Community Service, the Lion’s Club Outstanding Educator Award, and the Nevada Humanities Outstanding Nevadan Award, as well as other recognitions.
She has written extensively on Chinese Americans, including The Chinese in Nevada (2011), In Pursuit of Gold: Chinese American Miners and Merchants in the American West (2011), The Chinese in the Woods: Logging and Lumbering. In the American West (2015), and more recently, “Tracking the Chinese Railroad Workers in Two Nevada Towns: Winnemucca and Elko,” (2017), “Chinese Exclusion, the First Bureau of Immigration, and the 1905 Special Chinese Census,” (2018), “An Ocean Apart: Chinese American Burial Rituals,” (2020), and “Out of the Shadows and into Politics: The Experience of Chinese American Women in the American West,” (2021). She currently is working on a book manuscript on Chinese railroad labor contractors.
The Neon Museum’s annual Scholar in Residence lecture series brings leading scholars and other specialists to the Las Vegas community for enlightening lectures on history, art, design, and architecture.
Lecturers work with the Education & Outreach department to delve into the Neon Museum collection and develop presentations that have clear connections to the Museum’s mission and Las Vegas history.
This project is supported in part, by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the state of Nevada.
