John and Rose Ascuaga - John Ascuaga's Nugget - Sparks, NV
N 39° 31.979 W 119° 45.605
11S E 262785 N 4379563
This citizen memorial and sculpture reside at the Nugget Hotel Casino at the corner of Nugget Ave and Victoria Plaza Circle in Sparks, NV.
Waymark Code: WMMGAJ
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2014
Views: 5
Visitors and/or guests of the
Nugget might notice this figurative sculpture tucked away at the SW corner of the hotel complex. The sculpture is of a shepherd holding a small lamb while his dutiful dog accompanies him. The shepherd is a symbolic representation of the many Basque immigrants to the USA. At the base of the sculpture is a plaque dedicated to a couple who began the Nugget casino by their children, Michonne and Stephen. It reads:
| THE SHEPHERD A TRIBUTE TO OUR PARENTS,
WHO WERE AMONG THE MANY
BASQUE IMMIGRANTS WHOSE
COURAGE HELPED TO SHAPE
THE AMERICAN WEST. THEIR
OLD WORLD VALUES OF HARD
WORK AND HONESTY SET THE
STANDARD AND AMERICA
PROVIDED THE OPPORTUNITY.JOHN AND ROSE ASCUAGA
AUGUST 4, 1998 |
After viewing the casino website, I located a link to a page that announced the sale of the Nugget to a private investment group in December, 2013. The Ascuaga family was once owned and operated by John Ascuaga, his daughter Michonne Ascuaga, and son, Stephen Ascuaga. John Ascuaga was named Chairman Emeritus.
Dick Graves opened The Sparks Nugget on March 17, 1955 as a 60-seat coffee shop with a handful of slot machines. John Ascuaga, then general manager, purchased the Sparks Nugget in 1960 for $3.775 million on a handshake. Under John and two of his children, Michonne and Stephen's, leadership, the Nugget has grown into one of the largest Northern Nevada hotel casinos with over 1600 hotel rooms, 75,000 square feet of casino gaming, 110,000 square feet of convention space, nine restaurants, a sports book, bingo parlor, poker room, a unique indoor/outdoor swimming pool, wedding chapel, salon and spa, arcade, a cabaret, the legendary 700-seat Celebrity Showroom and more. ~source