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Imperial Palace Owner Engelstad Dies

Tim O'Keefe, executive vice president of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, confirmed Engelstad's death but said the university did not immediately have any details. It was not immediately clear whether Engelstad died Tuesday night or this morning.

Officials at Engelstad's Imperial Palace casino on the Las Vegas Strip also confirmed Engelstad had died, but offered no immediate details.

Engelstad, a 1954 UND graduate and former goaltender on the school's hockey team, also owned a casino resort called the Imperial Palace in Biloxi, Miss., and had a number of real estate holdings. He co-developed the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and later sold it. Forbes magazine listed him in the 1990s as being among the nation's richest people.

He financed the $100 million hockey arena on the UND campus that bears his name.

Engelstad was UND's biggest financial supporter, and was a staunch advocate of keeping the school's controversial Fighting Sioux nickname.

The Thief River Falls, Minn., native also donated $10 million for new high school hockey arena that is under construction in his hometown.

Engelstad was involved in controversy through the years.

In 1994, he threatened to hold up a major gift to UND until Terry Wanless, the school's athletic director, left the school. Engelstad was annoyed about Wanless' role in the resignation of John "Gino" Gasparini, UND's longtime hockey coach.

Wanless announced in August 1998 that he was resigning effective July 1, 1999. Four months later, Engelstad announced his $100 million gift to UND. University officials said at the time that Wanless' pending departure had no bearing on the timing of the gift.

UND's old hockey arena also was named for Engelstad. Officials bestowed that honor in 1988 after Engelstad and his wife, Betty, established a $5 million UND endowment to benefit the hockey program.

That gift caused some controversy at UND following disclosures that the Imperial Palace, the Las Vegas casino Engelstad owned, had hosted parties to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday.

Engelstad apologized for the parties, calling them "not only stupid, but insensitive."

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