Erik Kabik / ErikKabik.com
Longtime Caesars Palace valet Jim Dunbar, second from left, is shown at the Summer of Caesars 50th anniversary celebration, June 17, 2016, at Caesars Palace. He is shown with, from left, Benny Figgins, Caesars Palace GM Sean McBurney, Pamela Price and Pete George, employees from Year One of the property.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 | 2 a.m.
A lot has changed at Caesars Palace during the past 50 years.
Until recently, one thing that didn’t change over that span was the presence of James Dunbar — Jim to his wife and Jimmy to friends and family — who was a valet at the resort’s front door.
Dunbar, 80, died Friday after a battle with cancer. His 52-year career as a valet at the Strip property ended only a few months before his death.
“It was always very important to Jim to treat everybody well,” said his widow, Miriam Dunbar. “It didn’t matter whether you were a five-star player or drove up in an old junker, he always treated you the same.”
Jim Dunbar was born in Los Angeles in 1938, and his family moved to Las Vegas soon after. His father, the late Harold Dunbar, was a cabdriver here.
Jim first had a popcorn route — filling popcorn machines along the Strip — then parked cars at the Flamingo before moving to Caesars Palace when it opened.
Until he left his job due to health reasons in July, Jim was the last employee to work at Caesars Palace since its opening day.
“He was always working,” Miriam said. “He took so much pride and ownership in his job at Caesars. He felt like that was his front door. It was never about the tips for Jim — he was concerned about people having a good experience.”
While VIP guests are often whisked into properties through a side or back door these days, it wasn’t always that way, Miriam said.
For instance, she remembers when Jim worked the graveyard shift and boxer Mike Tyson would sometimes pull up in a recreational vehicle.
“The thing was, everybody was famous to Jim,” Miriam said. “He just loved people. For a long time, he had bad knees — I mean bone-on-bone — but he never complained. He always got up and went to work.”
Miriam said her late husband was a proud union member, serving as a union steward for many years.
Anyone wishing to pay their respects to Dunbar will be welcomed beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Masonic Memorial Temple at 2200 W. Mesquite Ave. in Las Vegas. A funeral service will follow at noon.
Following the service, Dunbar will be processed through the Caesars Palace front-door porte cochère before he is laid to rest.
