Casino pioneer John Ascuaga has died at 96
John Ascuaga, famed Nevada entrepreneur and former owner of John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, has died.
The announcement was made by Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson shortly before the beginning of today’s Sparks City Council meeting.
Ascuaga was 96. He was born in Caldwell, Idaho, in 1925.
Ascuaga lived for more than half a century at Jacks Valley Ranch in Carson Valley while he was owner of the casino, which he helped to build in the 1950s prior to purchasing it himself in 1960.
The casino was originally owned by Dick Graves, for whom Ascuaga worked. Graves owned more than half a dozen bars and restaurants with slot machines in them across Idaho until gambling was outlawed there. It was then he turned his attention to Nevada and opened the Carson City Nugget and the Sparks Nugget café with Ascuaga at his side as food supervisor.
Jacks Valley Ranch owner and philanthropist John Ascuaga died on Monday.
“We are truly saddened to hear of John Ascuaga’s passing and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his family and all the members of the community who knew him and benefitted from his impact,” said Marnell Gaming CEO Anthony Marnell III. “John was not only an icon in Northern Nevada and throughout the region, he was also one of the true pioneers in Nevada gaming and helped shape the direction of the entire state.”
Ascuaga purchased the Nugget from founder Dick Graves in 1960 and operated it for the next 53 years, shepherding the growth and expansion from a coffee shop with a few slot machines to the two-tower hotel, convention center, full-service casino and multi-outlet dining facility it became.
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