Guy Builds Online Shrine to Boardwalk Casino and It’s Simply Amazing

By Scott Roeben, on August 04 2026
3 min read 0 comments
Las Vegas

A Las Vegas casino fan, Tibor Szekely, has created a digital tribute to the timeless Boardwalk Casino, and it’s truly impressive. By “timeless,” of course, we mean Boardwalk’s time was up on Jan. 9, 2006, when the Coney Island-inspired casino closed.

Szekely’s just-launched Boardwalk site is a follow-up to his previous effort commemorating the Vegas-adjacent (it was in Jean) Nevada Landing Hotel & Casino. Check out this story about the Nevada Landing site by our distinguished colleague and mensch, Corey Levitan.

If you love old-timey casinos, or just enjoy seeing what creativity and passion can do, you’ll want to check out these sites. After reading our story, obviously. First things first.

Please make more, Tibor.

A good journalist would’ve done some research into what Tibor Szekely’s deal is, but we don’t really have time for all that. We just love what he does and how he does it.

His Boardwalk site takes things to a whole new level. For fans of Boardwalk, it’s like traveling back in time to the days when casinos had themes, cheap everything and weak ventilation systems.

First, some perfunctory context.

The Boardwalk Casino story started in 1966. It was originally a modest Holiday Inn. It later became Holiday Inn South and Holiday Inn South Strip.

In 1972, Norbert “Norm” Jansen opened Holiday Gifts at the hotel. Holiday Gifts then became Slot Joynt Casino.

In 1985, Jansen bought the place and rebranded it as the Viscount Hotel.

Jansen transformed the property into the Coney Island-themed Boardwalk in 1989, eventually adding its memorable carnival facade, giant clown entrance, faux roller coaster, Ferris wheel and a 16-story hotel tower. Oh, and the creatively named Slot Joynt.

MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts) acquired the Boardwalk in 1997 and the tiny casino didn’t stand a chance as MGM assembled land for its massive CityCenter development.

Boardwalk’s hotel tower was imploded on May 9, 2006, ending the run of one of The Strip’s quirkiest and most recognizable casinos.

We love how meticulous the Boardwalk site is with photo attribution and sourcing. This creepy clown photo, for example, is by Carol Highsmith and comes from the Library of Congress. Yes, there are still libraries.

While the real-world Boardwalk died in 2006, Tibor Szekely has resuscitated it online.

Szekely doesn’t just recount Boardwalk’s history (although there’s a page devoted to it); he turns it into a living, breathing thing again.

He doesn’t mock the cheese (there was plenty), he lovingly pays homage to it.

For starters, the site exists on a domain name once owned by the Boardwalk.

Szekely even dug up Boardwalk’s original home page in the Wayback Machine. It is gloriously horrific.

A perfect example is the audio of Boardwalk’s casino floor on the site’s homepage. The audio was captured on a guest’s camcorder, captured in 2001. Hey, even Holly Madison liked it.

Thanks for the eyeballs, Holly!

The site goes deep into the Boardwalk’s amenities and charms, with sections devoted to The Casino, The Hotel, Eats, The Showroom, The Gift Shop and more.

There’s even a section devoted to Zoltar, the poor man’s Pappy. Long story.

Don’t miss the Surf Buffet ad on the Eats page. Also, note the pre-PC $2.99 “Hobo Stew.”

Attention: Prices shown may cause reverse sticker shock.

Szekely somehow found Boardwalk’s 15-page banquet book and makes it downloadable as a PDF.

The site also provides a virtual guest book so visitors can share their memories of Boardwalk.

One of the cool things about Szekely’s masterpiece is its noncommercial. He isn’t selling anything.

Yes, you can select items on the Gift Shop page, but it’s just for fun. The site gives you a mock-up of a receipt which you can save or download, although it’s unclear why anyone would ever do that. Other than, oh yeah, it’s fun as hell.

Our advice is to set aside some time to explore Szekely’s Boardwalk site. It’s a whirlwind of kitsch and sights and smells and memories and sheer creativity.

It’s also a white paper on Web design and functionality. Looking at you, Circus Circus. The URL of  Circus Circus’ newly-revamped site should come with a trigger warning for trauma survivors and those suffering from rhodophobia. That’s a morbid fear of the color pink. Please keep up.

Anyway, big-time props to Tibor Szekely for his incredible effort, and we aren’t just kissing up so he’ll do Stardust next, probably.