Latin Casino

Latin Casino
"Show Place of the Stars"[1]
Map
Former names"Carroll's"
located at 1309 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1943)
LocationCherry Hill, New Jersey (1960)
OwnerStanley and Beatrice Carroll (1944–1968)

Arthur Friedman and Jack Price (1943–1951)

David Dushoff and Daniel "Dallas" Gerson (1951–1978)
TypeDinner theater, nightclub, showroom
Genre(s)Entertainment
Seating typeShowroom tables, booth seating
Capacity1,500
Construction
Built1960
Construction cost$3 million (1960)

The Latin Casino was a Philadelphia-area nightclub that first opened in 1944 as the "Latin" located at 1309 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many top entertainers performed at the Latin, including Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Durante, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Richard Pryor, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Joey Bishop, and others.

The Latin was a very popular Center City Philadelphia nightclub for a decade.[2]

In 1960, owners Stanley and Bea Carroll, David Dushoff, and Daniel "Dallas" Gerson relocated the nightclub to 2235 Route 70 in nearby Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and built a plush 1,500-seat, Vegas-style[3] dinner theater renamed from the "Latin" to the "Latin Casino", although casino gambling was not included. It was considered one of the fanciest, hippest dinner nightclub experiences of that time featuring dinner, drinks and a showcase of top entertainment, and was called "The Showplace of the Stars".[4]

  1. ^ "Latin Has Stage Presence In Local Pop Music Lore". Articles.philly.com. 1992-01-28. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  2. ^ "South Jersey Had Its Day As Performance Hot Spot The Action Today Is On The Waterfront. Before Mtv, The Latin Casino Was The Place To Be". Articles.philly.com. 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
  3. ^ King, Wayne (1973-11-18). "What's Doing in PHILADENPHIA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  4. ^ Kittrels, Alonzo. "Latin Casino, Pep's, were only a sample". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-11.