
LOST VEGAS: The Rise and Fall of Holy Cow, Las Vegas' First Casino Brewery
The Holy Cow Casino and Brewery, located at Sahara and the Strip in Las Vegas, made history as both a pioneer in racial equality and Nevada's brewing industry.
In 1955, the property opened as Foxy's Deli, becoming the Strip's first restaurant to openly serve Black people, five years before official desegregation. Owner Abe Fox, an early NAACP donor, provided meals to Black entertainers like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole, who couldn't dine at the hotels where they performed.

Rainbow "Holy Cow" brewery sign
The property changed hands in 1975 when Fox sold to Moe Dalitz, who ran it as Foxy's Firehouse until 1988. In 1992, former NFL linebacker Tom "Big Dog" Wiesner transformed it into the Holy Cow Casino, complete with a 14-foot fiberglass Holstein named Alphie wearing sunglasses and surrounded by neon.

Vintage Foxy's Deli storefront, Las Vegas
The Holy Cow made history again in 1993 by opening Nevada's first legal brewery after Wiesner helped change state liquor laws. The casino thrived until 2002 when post-9/11 tourism decline forced its closure. Wiesner passed away three months later.

Black Ivana Vegas casino sign
The property later became a sales office for a failed condo project under developer Victor Altomare, who briefly renamed it Ivana Las Vegas. In 2012, the building was demolished for a Walgreens.
Alphie, the iconic cow statue, found a new home at Jim Marsh's Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, where she continues to greet visitors today.

Giant cow sculpture beside desert windmill
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