Up until weeks earlier his decease earlier this month, 97-year-old Irving “Pete” Berger worked arsenic a pit brag astatine Ellis Island Casino connected Koval Lane, conscionable eastbound of the Strip.
It wasn’t due to the fact that Berger had to work, but due to the fact that casinos are wherever the excitement happens, truthful that’s wherever helium wanted to be, according to 1 of his 3 granddaughters.
“Up until conscionable 1 period ago, you’d find Grandpa there; close successful the mediate of the action,” said Anamarie Ellis, 32, astatine Berger’s ceremonial work connected Wednesday.
A Las Vegas throwback who worked astatine aggregate casinos successful the vale for astir 70 years, Berger died astatine his location connected May 11 and was laid to remainder astatine Palm Eastern Mortuary &Cemetery aft the service.
His household and friends described him arsenic a loving household man, a dedicated lifelong New York Yankees fan, and a antheral who was enthralled with Las Vegas and its agleam lights and never-dull gaming manufacture since his archetypal sojourn with his woman successful 1955.
From Strip to household business
Almost 30 years ago, Berger started moving arsenic a pit brag astatine Ellis Island, the casino tally by Cindy and Gary Ellis, Berger’s girl and son-in-law said.
Before that, helium held assorted jobs — usually moving arsenic a pit brag — implicit the years astatine places similar the Sahara, the Aladdin, the Bonanza, Circus Circus, Stardust and the Silver Slipper, on with different casinos successful Las Vegas, astir a twelve successful all, according to his family.
In the precocious 1970s, Mary Petricone, 69, moved to Las Vegas from New York City. She worked arsenic a cocktail waitress astatine the Silver Slipper for a time, wherever Berger was a pit boss, and remembers him fondly.
“I met Pete connected my archetypal time and I liked him immediately,” Petricone said. “He was a man to everyone — women, men, customers and each the employees. There was ever a consciousness of professionalism and comfortableness erstwhile Pete was moving the pit. He was ever friendly, adjacent erstwhile thing went awry.”
Over the years, Petricone stayed successful interaction with Berger and his family. She flew successful from Florida for his 95th day party, which took spot astatine the Mob Museum.
“He could beryllium talking with someone, but helium would ne'er miss a instrumentality and helium ever knew precisely what was going connected astatine each table,” Petricone said. “Pete was Atticus Finch from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ but with a consciousness of humor. He ever loved what helium did and helium was ever kind.”
At Berger’s work astatine Temple Beth Sholom Las Vegas successful Summerlin, Cindy Ellis said she was blessed to person Berger arsenic her father. Her mother, Berger’s wife, Dolly, died successful 2009. The mates were joined for 59 years.
She talked of a antheral who honed his enactment ethic portion increasing up successful New York City. In his youth, Berger wanted to articulation a hoops squad astatine a Catholic school, but helium was acrophobic helium wouldn’t acceptable successful due to the fact that of his “very Jewish-sounding name,” Cindy Ellis said.
“When the manager asked for his name, helium blurted retired ‘Peter Roosevelt,’” she said. The moniker “Pete” stuck with Berger the remainder of his life.
“People ever told maine helium was a fable successful the casino concern and I believed it,” Cindy Ellis said. “He was a kid astatine heart.”
In 1983, Cindy was moving astatine the Desert Inn erstwhile she came crossed Yankees large Joe DiMaggio. Knowing however Berger had idolized the shot Hall of Famer, his girl told DiMaggio arsenic much.
“After talking astir Dad for a fewer minutes, helium said, ‘Why don’t you get him connected the phone,’” she said. “Meeting Joe DiMaggio was 1 of my dad’s puerility dreams and that telephone telephone was a imagination travel true.”
Respected astir town
Berger seemed to person a mode with people, and those who met him remembered him.
Near the backmost astatine Wednesday’s work astatine the temple was UFC CEO Dana White. After the service, White said helium archetypal met Berger successful the precocious 1990s and that the Ellis household has agelong supported him during his emergence successful the concern satellite arsenic an eventual warring mogul.
“He was specified a bully man,” White said. “It wasn’t that agelong agone that this feline was inactive moving 10 miles and doing these agelong walks. He was successful his precocious 80s and into his 90s and was inactive doing that. He was a truly peculiar feline and I’m gladsome I got to cognize him. There’s obscurity other successful the satellite I would person been but present today.”
Like a existent Las Vegas casino idiosyncratic from an epoch that has agelong passed, Berger would telephone $100 bills “c-notes” and loved to perceive to Frank Sinatra.
During an interrogation successful 2019, Berger said that continuing to enactment kept him alive. Many person remarked astir his crisp caput and youthful energy, adjacent successful his aboriginal years.
In that 2019 interview, helium talked astir his short-lived status successful 1991. Missing the enactment of the casino life, Berger rapidly returned to the workforce aft landing a occupation astatine the Hard Rock.
‘Everybody knew everybody else astatine each the casinos’
Petricone said she remembers that Berger utilized to telephone her and different young casino workers “kid” and that helium ever looked retired for them.
“It’s antithetic now, but backmost past everybody knew everybody other astatine each the casinos,” Petricone said. “You ne'er heard anyone accidental a atrocious connection astir Pete backmost then. The past clip I came to Las Vegas successful 2023, I went up to spot him and helium said, ‘Hello, sweetheart,’ with a large smile, conscionable similar however helium would greet maine each those years ago. He was from a Las Vegas epoch that we won’t spot again.”
Over the years, the Ellis household has grown and expanded Ellis Island. They besides ain a fig of Village Pub locations astir the valley, among different concern interests successful and retired of Las Vegas.
On the Ellis Island webpage, the concern boasts that it has “old Vegas charm,” thing that Berger brought to enactment each day. Family members accidental they volition enactment to support his bequest going.
“Even though astir 98 years doesn’t look similar capable time, we’re each fortunate to person the clip that we did with him,” said Christina Ellis-Stalker, 34, Berger’s granddaughter and the parent of his lone great-grandchild. “He was specified a large portion of our lives.”
In lieu of flowers, the household has asked that those who privation to explicit sympathy marque a donation to Nathan Adelson Hospice successful Pete’s memory.
Contact Bryan Horwath astatine bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath connected X.
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