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Ten years earlier, he had also been enmeshed in a high-profile situation in Las Vegas. Engelstad owned the third largest antique car collection in the world, including cars owned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and three infamous Nazis, Adolph Hitler, Herman Goring and Heinrich Himmler. His interest in these cars spilled over into an extensive collection of Axis and Nazi memorabilia housed in the Imperial's "war room." It included swastika banners, uniforms, propaganda posters, weapons, and a portrait of Hitler reading, "To Ralphie from Adolph." In 1986 and 1988, Engelstad held parties in the war room on Hitler's birthday, and the resulting scandal ended with the state of Nevada demanding 1.5 million dollars for harming the state's reputation. Engelstad insisted the parties were tongue-in-cheek, but he paid the fine so that he could retain his gaming license