Don Laughlin's Classic Car Museum: A Complete Guide
Don Laughlin didn't just build a casino resort on the banks of the Colorado River — he built a monument to American automotive history. Tucked inside the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, the Classic Car Museum houses more than 100 vintage and classic vehicles spanning over a century of four-wheeled ingenuity. From brass-era horseless carriages to Detroit muscle cars to Hollywood showpieces, the collection reflects the personal passion of the man who put Laughlin on the map.
Best of all, admission is free for hotel guests — making it one of the most accessible automotive collections in the American Southwest. Even if you're not staying at the Riverside, a day trip from Las Vegas (about 90 minutes south on US-95) to walk the museum floor is well worth it.
Table of Contents
Who Is Don Laughlin?
Don Laughlin's story is the classic Nevada bootstrap tale. Born in Owatonna, Minnesota in 1931, he ran illegal slot machines out of a bait shop as a teenager, saved his money, and eventually made his way to Las Vegas in the 1950s. After years of working in and investing in downtown casinos, Laughlin purchased an abandoned bait shop and eight motel rooms on a remote stretch of the Colorado River in 1966 — paying just $250,000 for the parcel. He ran the resort himself for years, eventually naming the tiny Nevada border town after himself when the post office required a name for the new settlement.
Today Laughlin, Nevada is a full-fledged resort town with a population of roughly 8,000 and nine major casino resorts lining the Colorado River waterfront. The Riverside Resort remains the flagship, and the classic car collection is Don's most personal legacy within it.
The Man Behind the Wheel: Don Laughlin began collecting automobiles in the 1960s and never stopped. His passion skews toward the machines he grew up admiring — pre-war classics, early American muscle, and vehicles with genuine historical provenance. Unlike many private collections that sit behind velvet ropes, Laughlin's cars are displayed in a walk-through setting that encourages close inspection.
Museum Overview
The museum occupies a dedicated wing of the Riverside Resort. The collection of over 100 vehicles is arranged chronologically and by category, allowing visitors to trace the arc of automotive design from the early 1900s through the 1970s. Lighting is purposeful — each vehicle is spotlit to highlight bodywork details, chrome accents, and original upholstery.
Photography is encouraged throughout the museum — bring your camera or phone and plan for 60–90 minutes if you want to read the placard for every vehicle. Car enthusiasts with a deeper interest in provenance and mechanics could easily spend two hours here. Casual visitors can walk the full floor in 30–45 minutes.
Early Automobiles & Brass Era Cars
The collection opens with a strong representation of pre-1920 horseless carriages and brass-era automobiles — the era when gasoline, steam, and electric power all competed for automotive dominance. These vehicles are distinguished by their exposed mechanical components, kerosene lanterns, hand-crank starters, and tiller or tee-bar steering mechanisms.
Highlights in this section include examples of curved-dash runabouts from the early 1900s — the type Ransom Olds mass-produced beginning in 1901 — as well as touring cars with folding canvas tops designed for the well-heeled traveler of the era. The brass hardware that gave the period its name gleams under the museum's spotlights: headlamps, horn housings, radiator shells, and dashboard fittings were all machined from polished brass before chrome plating became standard in the late 1920s.
Why "Brass Era"? The term refers roughly to 1895–1915, when automobiles were largely hand-built and mechanical components were exposed and fashioned from brass. The arrival of the electric starter (Cadillac, 1912), closed steel bodies, and mass production marked the end of the brass era and the beginning of the classic era.
Classic American Iron
The heart of the collection spans the 1920s through 1950s — the golden age of American coachwork when automakers competed on grace, proportion, and mechanical refinement. This section features the long, flowing fenderlines of pre-war American classics alongside the chrome-laden optimism of postwar automotive design.
Notable marques represented include:
- Duesenberg — the most coveted American luxury automobile of the 1930s, with supercharged straight-eight engines producing more than 320 horsepower at a time when most cars had 60–80
- Packard — America's answer to Rolls-Royce throughout the 1920s and 1930s, favored by presidents, film stars, and foreign heads of state
- Cord and Auburn — E.L. Cord's visionary automobiles with front-wheel drive and coffin-nose styling that anticipated designs by two decades
- Lincoln and Cadillac — the postwar flagships, loaded with chrome and tailfins as Detroit embraced jet-age optimism in the 1950s
The 1950s section showcases the extravagance that defined postwar American design: enormous tailfins inspired by the Lockheed P-38 fighter, panoramic wraparound windshields, two-tone paint schemes, and enough chrome to blind you on a sunny day in the Mojave. A well-restored 1957 Chevy Bel Air or 1955 Ford Fairlane in showroom condition is a genuinely beautiful object — and the Riverside collection has examples in remarkable original or restored condition.
Muscle Cars & Performance Vehicles
The museum dedicates significant floor space to the American muscle car era of the 1960s and early 1970s — the period when domestic automakers shoehorned ever-larger displacement V8 engines into mid-size body shells and sold them to a generation of young buyers willing to pay a modest premium over the base model for serious performance.
The collection includes celebrated examples across the Big Three manufacturers:
- Ford Mustang (original 1964½ through early 1970s) — the car that created the pony car segment, with high-performance Shelby GT350 and GT500 variants in the collection
- Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette — GM's answer to the Mustang and America's sports car, with big-block SS and Z/28 variants on display
- Plymouth Road Runner and Dodge Charger — Chrysler's no-nonsense muscle cars, including the legendary 426 Hemi powerplant
- Pontiac GTO — the original muscle car by most definitions, introduced in 1964 when John DeLorean stuffed a 389-cubic-inch V8 into the mid-size Tempest body
The Muscle Car Era's End: The golden era of American muscle effectively ended with the 1973 oil embargo and new federal emissions regulations. Insurance surcharges on high-performance vehicles had already begun to bite by 1971–72. The collection captures these cars at their pre-regulation peak — with original high-compression engines intact on many examples.
Specialty & One-of-a-Kind Vehicles
Beyond the historical survey, the collection includes a number of specialty and one-of-a-kind vehicles that stand apart from the mainstream American automotive narrative. These are the cars that draw a second look and prompt visitors to read every word of the placard.
Expect to find vehicles in categories including:
- Film and television cars — vehicles with documented entertainment industry provenance, ranging from studio promotional cars to hero vehicles used in production
- Custom show cars — one-off creations from the custom car culture that emerged from Southern California in the 1950s, featuring radical bodywork by craftsmen like George Barris and Dean Jeffries
- Racing heritage vehicles — cars with documented competition histories at venues including Indianapolis, Daytona, and the Southern California dry lakes and salt flats
- Limited-production exotics — low-volume American and European performance vehicles that rarely appeared in suburban driveways
Don Laughlin's personal taste runs toward vehicles with genuine stories. The placards throughout the museum reflect this emphasis on provenance — each card notes the vehicle's history, original owners where known, and any competition or entertainment history. This storytelling approach elevates the collection above a simple static display into something closer to a living archive.
Antique Slot Machines & Casino Memorabilia
Alongside the automobiles, the museum incorporates a secondary collection of antique slot machines and early casino equipment that traces the parallel history of Nevada gambling technology. This pairing makes sense given Laughlin's origins as a slot machine operator — and it gives non-car-enthusiast companions something to engage with while their partners linger over every carburetor.
The slot machine collection spans from the mechanical one-armed bandits of the early 20th century through mid-century electromechanical models to early video poker terminals. Original Mills Novelty Company machines, Watling Brothers floor consoles, and Jennings slot machines illustrate the mechanical ingenuity that powered Nevada's economy before digital reels took over.
Historical Note: The earliest mechanical slot machines date to the 1890s. Charles Fey's Liberty Bell machine (c. 1895, San Francisco) is considered the first true three-reel slot. Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, and the decade that followed saw slot machine manufacturing become a major Chicago industry. Many of the machines in the Laughlin collection date from this early Nevada gambling era.
Visiting Information
The Classic Car Museum is located within the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino at 1650 S. Casino Drive, Laughlin, NV 89029.
- Admission: Free for Riverside Resort hotel guests; small fee for non-guests (verify current pricing at the resort)
- Hours: Open daily; check with the resort for current hours as they may vary seasonally
- Photography: Permitted throughout — flash photography generally fine as it does not harm the vehicles
- Accessibility: The museum floor is level and fully wheelchair accessible
- Group visits: Contact the Riverside Resort in advance for groups of 15 or more
Getting There: Laughlin sits at the southern tip of Nevada on the Colorado River across from Bullhead City, Arizona. From Las Vegas, take US-95 south to Needles Highway (NV-163) west — approximately 90 miles, about 1 hour 30 minutes. From Phoenix, take US-93 north to AZ-68 west, then cross the Colorado River into Laughlin — approximately 200 miles, about 3 hours.
Laughlin as a Day Trip from Las Vegas
While many visitors arrive via the interstate casino bus lines that serve Laughlin from Las Vegas, the drive down US-95 through the Mojave Desert is rewarding on its own terms. The highway passes through the small desert towns of Henderson, Boulder City (worth a brief stop for its Depression-era downtown and proximity to Hoover Dam), and Searchlight before dropping into the Colorado River valley.
A full Laughlin day trip might combine:
- Classic Car Museum — 60–90 minutes
- Riverside Resort casino floor — notoriously low table minimums by Nevada standards
- Colorado River walk — the 1.5-mile pedestrian riverwalk connects all the major casino resorts along the Nevada bank
- Aquarius Casino Resort — the largest property in Laughlin, with a good buffet and river views
- Don Laughlin's Antique & Classic Car Show — held annually each spring, this event draws hundreds of vehicles to the riverfront parking area and is arguably the best weekend of the year to visit
Laughlin operates on Mountain Time (Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, so Bullhead City is on the same time as Nevada during DST and one hour ahead during standard time). Keep this in mind when planning a return drive to Las Vegas — casino lighting makes it easy to lose track of time.
Practical Tips
- Book a room at the Riverside for free admission. Riverside Resort rates are among the lowest in Nevada — often under $40 per night on weekdays. Staying overnight converts the museum from a paid attraction into a free perk and gives you easy access to the casino floor and Colorado River views.
- Visit on a weekday morning. Weekend afternoons draw bus tour groups from Las Vegas and Phoenix that can make the museum feel crowded. Weekday mornings are noticeably quieter, allowing you to linger at individual vehicles without feeling rushed.
- Bring a telephoto or macro lens. The placard photography and detail shots — carburetor linkages, instrument gauges, upholstery patterns — reward a longer focal length or a smartphone with a dedicated portrait mode. Wide angles work well for full-vehicle shots from the end of each row.
- Check the annual car show dates before you book. Don Laughlin's Classic Car & Boat Show typically runs in late spring. Attending during show weekend dramatically multiplies the number of vehicles accessible — hundreds of privately owned classics park along the Colorado River Parkway in addition to the permanent museum collection.
- Combine with Hoover Dam on the way down. US-95 passes within 12 miles of Hoover Dam via NV-172 from Boulder City. A 45-minute dam tour adds history to the drive and breaks the 90-mile trip from Las Vegas into two natural stops before arriving in Laughlin.
- Dress for the Colorado River corridor climate. Laughlin sits at roughly 650 feet elevation — lower and hotter than Las Vegas. Summer temperatures regularly exceed 115°F. The museum itself is air-conditioned, but the riverside walk and parking areas are fully exposed. Visit between October and April for comfortable outdoor conditions.