Our Story
Over fifty years at the same address on Spring Mountain Road. Four eras. Three owners. One room that refused to disappear. This is how Play It Again Sam's became the last real room in Vegas.
Still Here. Still Yours.
After more than five decades, the room that started as a Casablanca dream continues to be exactly what Vegas needs — a place that's real, honest, and always open.
The Beginning
A Casablanca Dream on Spring Mountain
1972–1979
In 1972, on the dusty outskirts of Las Vegas — miles from the neon glow of the Strip — something extraordinary opened its doors at 4120 Spring Mountain Road. The name came from a movie, and the spirit came from Pete Petrie who believed Vegas deserved a place that felt like something out of another era.
Pete Petrie had a vision: a legendary jazz superclub with character, named after the most famous misquoted line in cinema. Casablanca wasn't just an influence — it was the blueprint. The dark wood, the amber lighting, the feeling that you'd stepped into Rick's Café Américain.
Enter Randy Kiefer — a restaurateur from Belleville, Illinois, who'd already made his mark with Jeremiah's Steak House and The Elephant Bar. Kiefer saw what Pete Petrie had started and recognized something worth building on. He took the reins, and Play It Again Sam's became his crown jewel.
By the late '70s, Sam's had earned its place among the best establishments in Las Vegas. The Petrie Corporation was formally incorporated in 1977, and something magical had happened — the regulars had started calling it home.
1975The original dining room — where the Casablanca dream came to life
1977Dark wood, amber lighting, and that unmistakable Sam's atmosphere
The Golden Years
When Sam's Was the Best-Kept Secret in Vegas
1980–1996
Under Randy Kiefer's hands-on management, Sam's became one of the most respected establishments in Las Vegas through the 1980s and into the '90s. Kiefer wasn't just an owner — he was a perfectionist who was there every night, shaking hands, remembering names, and making sure every experience lived up to the Sam's standard.
The menu from this era — now preserved in UNLV's Special Collections — tells the story of a serious establishment that didn't need to be on the Strip to draw a crowd. Prime cuts, stiff cocktails, and a piano bar that kept the Casablanca spirit alive.
While the Strip reinvented itself with mega-resorts and theme casinos, Sam's held its ground. No gimmicks. No celebrity chefs. No theme nights. Just a neighborhood institution where locals came because they knew what they'd get: a perfect meal, a strong drink, and a room that felt like home.
Though Kiefer would later open Kiefer's Atop The Carriage House, another acclaimed Vegas establishment, Sam's remained his first love — the room that proved Vegas could have class without the glitz.
1985The Sam's menu — now archived at UNLV Special Collections (men001657)
1985The iconic Sam's billboard greeting Spring Mountain Road travelers
1989When 'Jazz Super Club' announced what awaited inside
1994'No lunch over $7' — keeping it real when Vegas was getting expensive
1995The sign that became a Spring Mountain landmark
The Transformation
A New Chapter, Same Spirit
1997–2005
In 1997, Sam's reinvented itself. The jazz club era gave way to something completely unexpected — a Gentlemen's Club that kept the same address, the same name, and most importantly, the same feeling of walking into a place where history lived in the walls.
It was a bold move, but it made perfect sense. Spring Mountain Road was transforming. Chinatown was growing around it. The old-Vegas neighborhood joints were disappearing one by one, swallowed by progress. Sam's faced a choice: adapt or die. They adapted — but refused to lose their soul.
The gaming license came with the transformation: bar-top poker machines that gave Sam's something no other club in Vegas could offer. Entertainment, cocktails, and gaming under one roof. It was an unlikely combination that shouldn't have worked — but it became the secret sauce that made Sam's genuinely one-of-a-kind.
Randy Kiefer, ever the perfectionist, ran the new incarnation with the same obsessive attention to detail he'd brought to the jazz club days. When he retired in 2006, he did what he'd always done — he took care of the people who'd taken care of Sam's.
The Last Real Room
Denise, Bob & the Place That Refused to Change
2006–Present
When Denise, Bob, and Don Newhouse took over in 2006, Vegas was drunk on its own success. Mega-clubs were opening on the Strip with $40 cocktails and celebrity DJs. Everything was getting bigger, louder, more expensive — and somehow, less real.
Sam's went the opposite direction. Denise and Bob made a promise: keep it real. Keep the prices fair. Keep the regulars happy. Keep the door open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — the same way it had been since 1972.
Today, Play It Again Sam's is the last real room in Vegas. It's the only Gentlemen's Club with gaming in the city — 15 bar-top poker machines that have paid out over $2.8 million in 2025 alone. Happy hour runs from 7 AM to 7 PM. The drinks are cold, the entertainment is live, and the atmosphere is something money can't buy.
Over fifty years of stories live in these walls. The Casablanca dream that started it all is still here — not as a theme or decoration, but as a feeling in your bones. You walk through that door and you know instantly: this is where you belong.
2025The bar and stage area — where entertainment meets tradition
2025Live entertainment every night — keeping the Vegas spirit alive
“Here's looking at you, kid.”
— Casablanca, 1942. The movie that started it all.