Oral history interview with Michael J. Brown conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on October 30, 2025 and November 3, 2025 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Brown talks about his early life growing up near Cleveland, Ohio, and his family’s longstanding lineage in Ohio and the Appalachians. Brown became involved with politics at Ohio State University where he was involved with student government. After graduating from Ohio State University, he worked for the U.S. Mint and recalls how challenging it was for Las Vegas casinos to get silver Eisenhower dollar coins for their payouts. Later, Brown worked for the Gold Institute for International Strategy and then the Barrick Mining Corporation. In 1997, Brown went to work for the Nevada Legislature. Through various connections and business relationships, Brown decided to help Steve Sisolak’s campaign, later leading Sisolak’s Department of Business and Industry, then moving to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. He discusses the impact COVID-19 had on the state of Nevada, and how the governor’s staff was worked to make sure people were safe. Brown also discusses the potential film studios coming to Las Vegas, and the impact it would have on the economy. The interview concludes with a discussion of Nevada politicians and Brown's plan for the future. Digital audio is available; no transcript available.
Oral history interview with Michael J. Brown conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on October 30, 2025 and November 3, 2025 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Brown talks about his early life growing up near Cleveland, Ohio, and his family’s longstanding lineage in Ohio and the Appalachians. Brown became involved with politics at Ohio State University where he was involved with student government. After graduating from Ohio State University, he worked for the U.S. Mint and recalls how challenging it was for Las Vegas casinos to get silver Eisenhower dollar coins for their payouts. Later, Brown worked for the Gold Institute for International Strategy and then the Barrick Mining Corporation. In 1997, Brown went to work for the Nevada Legislature. Through various connections and business relationships, Brown decided to help Steve Sisolak’s campaign, later leading Sisolak’s Department of Business and Industry, then moving to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. He discusses the impact COVID-19 had on the state of Nevada, and how the governor’s staff was worked to make sure people were safe. Brown also discusses the potential film studios coming to Las Vegas, and the impact it would have on the economy. The interview concludes with a discussion of Nevada politicians and Brown's plan for the future. Digital audio is available; no transcript available.
Collection is open for research.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked.
Michael J. Brown oral history interview, 2025 October 30; November 3. OH-03971. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f16z10
This interview was conducted and transcribed by the Oral History Research Center (OHRC) which is part of the UNLV University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Division.
Interview materials were processed by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 2026. Tammi Kim wrote the collection description. Access copies were created for born-digital audio files. The audio has been minimally reviewed and all readily available information has been included in the description.