Milton Prell was born in St. Louis in 1905, but soon moved to Los Angeles in his teens.. Prell became a decent jeweler and was a natural as a car salesman, that in 1937 he took his business to Montana where he eventually followed a dream, in opening a hotel.. He in fact opened '30 Club' an successful ,illegal, but tolerated gambling joint, prompted by friend and neighbor Frank Schivo, Who would work in Prells casino. Schivo became a protege of Prells and would make trips to Reno and Las Vegas looking for openings to continue their success on a larger scale.. Prell and his family moved to Las Vegas in 1945 with the idea of opening a small hotel but he again opted to stick with the gambling theme, a non hotel casino called 'Club Bingo.' Prell toyed with the idea of adding rooms or even an adobe village to his Casino, but the plans never matched the grandeur of the luxury resort he always dreamed of.. Frank Schivo would become Milton Prells key employer at Club Bingo, and his sister Eda Schivo his executive secretary.. In 1951 Prell called together several former business partner to propose a deal which resulted in the construction of Prell's first hotel resort on the grounds of the old Club Bingo, the Moroccan themed Sahara which included a 300 seat bingo parlor, and statues of camels in front of the hotel..
In 1952 the Sahara Hotel and Casino first opened its doors to the general public. Its original low-rise design came from Max Maltzmann and owner Milton Prell; at a cost $5.5 million to construct. In 1959 Martin Stern jr was called in to design and construct towers for the Sahara adding 14 stories and 200 rooms to the original structure, Prell would also add the famous Congo room.. In 1960 he added another 200 rooms. Prell sold the Sahara in 1961 to Del Webb.. Milton Prell was looking for a new project.
In 1965, Prell bought the Kings crown for $16 million on the Las Vegas Strip. The place had been failing and Prell remodeled it and renamed it the Aladdin Hotel and casino with an Arabian Knights theme, it opened in 1966. Prell had added restaurants, a lounge, a 500 seat showroom and a golf course. Prell was a long time friend of colonel Tom Parker, the manager of Elvis Presley. Prell knew that Presley and fiancée Priscilla wanted to marry but wanted to keep it as private as possible. On May 1st 1967 Elvis and Priscilla would be married privately in Milton Prells private apartment inside the Aladdin hotel to shield the event from press.
At the same time, Prell's brother-in-law sold his mattress business so Prell could purchase the Mint Hotel and casino on Fremont Street. Prell promised his brother-in-law a job and made him the manager.
Some time later, Milton Prell suffered a stroke. Prell needed to use a wheelchair much of the time, but continued to walk with two canes through the casino to his office each morning. The Aladdin's profits were dropping and eventually he couldn't keep up and the Aladdin was sold. Sadly Milton Prell passed in 1974. His legacy paved the way for newer properties on the strip, the Sahara closed in 2011 but still operates as SLS resorts, a luxury boutique hotel, The former Aladdin is now Planet Hollywood resorts and the Aladdin's theatre of performing arts still stands at the rear of the property..
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