Ralph Louis Engelstad (January 28, 1930 – November 26, 2002) was an American businessman who owned the Imperial Palace casino-hotels in Las Vegas and in Biloxi, Mississippi. He also owned the Kona Kai motel in Las Vegas, which later became the Klondike Hotel and Casino. He was also the donor for the construction of the $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena for his alma mater, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and another arena bearing his name in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Engelstad was also a co-developer of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Engelstad was one of the very few independent casino-hotel owners in Las Vegas. Early years Engelstad was born on January 28, 1930, in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. He was one of five children born to Christian and Madeline (Thill) Engelstad. His grandfather, Peder was a Norwegian immigrant from Vang, Hedmark. During high school, Engelstad worked a summer job at AGSCO farm supply company, where his father was a salesman. It was usually long and hard work, taking place on farms and requiring the workers to assemble steel buildings from morning to night. In 1954, he graduated from the University of North Dakota (UND) with a degree in Business. While at UND, Engelstad also played goalie for the school hockey team and even received a tryout with the Chicago Blackhawks. After graduation, he went on to marry Betty Stocker of East Grand Forks. The two went on to have a daughter, Kris. Business career In the 1950s, Engelstad founded his own construction company: Engelstad Construction. Engelstad became a millionaire at the age of twenty-nine, fulfilling his hope to become a millionaire by the age of thirty. In 1959, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where his construction company had secured government contracts to build FHA homes. In 1965, he purchased the Thunderbird Field airport and later acquired vacant land nearby. In 1967, he sold 145 acres, including the airport, to billionaire Howard Hughes for $2 million. Engelstad used the money to purchase the Kona Kai motel on the Las Vegas Strip. He sold the motel in 1975 for $1.2 million, and it would later become the Klondike Hotel and Casino. In 1971, he purchased the Flamingo Capri Motel, also on the Las Vegas Strip. He added a casino in 1972, and later renamed the property to the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino in 1979. By