The Toni and Wilbur Clark Papers (approximately 1944-1995) document the lives of Toni and Wilbur Clark and the development and promotion of the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The materials include photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and publications highlighting the Clarks’ activities and lifestyle. The photographs depict Wilbur and Toni Clark attending and hosting events with celebrities, politicians, and other associates from throughout Las Vegas and the United States; as well as events and golf tournaments held at the Desert Inn Country Club. The collection includes correspondence highlighting Clark’s promotion of the Desert Inn and his emphasis on hospitality and building relationships. Multiple scrapbooks contain photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other ephemera detailing different periods in Wilbur Clark’s life. Audiovisual materials include home movies, news footage, and footage of Las Vegas and the Desert Inn.
The Toni and Wilbur Clark Papers (approximately 1944-1995) document the lives of Toni and Wilbur Clark and the development and promotion of the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The materials include photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and publications highlighting the Clarks’ activities and lifestyle. The photographs depict Wilbur and Toni Clark attending and hosting events with celebrities, politicians, and other associates from throughout Las Vegas and the United States; as well as events and golf tournaments held at the Desert Inn Country Club. The collection includes correspondence from Wilbur Clark to those he identified as VIPs, including elected officials and celebrities, which highlight Clark’s promotion of the Desert Inn and his emphasis on hospitality and building relationships. Multiple scrapbooks contain photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other ephemera detailing different periods in Wilbur Clark’s life. The collection also contains audiovisual materials, including Wilbur and Toni Clark's home movies, news footage, and footage of Las Vegas and the Desert Inn. This collection was previously known as the Wilbur and Toni Clark Papers.
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for additional information.
This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. Material in this collection may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives (special.collections@unlv.edu) for additional information.
Materials remain as they were received.
Casino owner and developer Wilbur Clark was born in Keyesport, Illinois on December 27, 1908 to Shirley and Lulu Clark. He moved to San Diego, California as a teenager, working a series of jobs there before relocating to Reno, Nevada, where he entered the gaming industry.
Wilbur Clark married Toni Gaglionese in 1944. That same year, Clark invested in the Monte Carlo Club on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada, and purchased the El Rancho Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. He sold his interest in the two properties in 1946 and used the proceeds to begin building a new resort on the Strip, the Desert Inn. Due to rising post-war construction costs the project ran low on funds, and Clark sold a majority interest in the Desert Inn to Moe Dalitz in order to finish construction. Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn opened on April 24, 1950, adding an eighteen-hole golf course and country club a year later. Clark was a partner in the Desert Inn until he sold his interest in 1964.
In addition to the Desert Inn, Wilbur Clark built the Paradise Gardens housing development in Las Vegas, naming the streets after his family and friends. He also served as mayor of the township of Paradise Valley, Nevada. Wilbur Clark died of a heart attack on August 27, 1965.
Sources:
Burbank, Jeff. “Desert Inn.” Online Nevada Encyclopedia. May 19, 2011. http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/desert-inn
Green, Michael. "Las Vegas Desert Inn: From Wilbur Clark's Vision to Wynn's Demolition." Nevada Public Radio. June 10, 2025. https://knpr.org/show/nevada-yesterdays/2025-06-10/las-vegas-desert-inn-from-wilbur-clarks-vision-to-wynns-demolition
Socialite and philanthropist Toni Clark was born Lena Gaglionese on April 4, 1915 in Seattle, Washington to Angeline and Salvatore Gaglionese. She moved to San Diego in 1941, where she met Wilbur Clark. The couple relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1944 and got married in Reno, Nevada on August 2, 1944.
Toni Clark contributed to the social aspects of the Desert Inn by entertaining guests, planning parties, and hosting fashion shows at the resort. After Wilbur’s death in 1965, Toni remained an active member of Las Vegas society. She later married longtime friend Larry Finuf, who ran a clothing shop inside the Desert Inn. Toni Clark lived in Las Vegas, Nevada until her death on October 4, 2006.
Sources:
“Toni Clark.” Women in Nevada History. Accessed March 12, 2026. https://womennvhistory.org/portfolio/toni-clark/
Toni Clark oral history interview, 1996 July 02. OH-02781. Transcript. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Toni and Wilbur Clark Papers, approximately 1944-1995. MS-00361. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Materials were donated in 1995 by Toni Clark; accession number 95-49. Additional materials were donated in 2025 by Larry Finuf; accession number 2025-106.
Material was processed in 1999 by Gerry Evans. In 2016, Joyce Moore revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. In 2018, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Angela Moor revised the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards. In 2019, Angela Moor added descriptions for the audiovisual material. In 2026, Landon Paljusaj processed the 2025 addition, updated the name of the collection, and updated the finding aid in ArchivesSpace.
Administrative Information
Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings on the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.
Some of the photographs in the original acquisition were removed from this collection and placed in the Toni and Wilbur Clark Photographs, 1910-1975. PH-00302. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.