Robert Leroy Parker (1866-1908), also known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train and bank robber during the late 1800s. He was notorious for being the leader of the “Wild Bunch”, a gang of criminal outlaws in the Old West. Parker’s life and death has been a main element in many “Wild West” films and literature to this day.

Basic Magnesium, Inc. (BMI) formed in June 1941 as a joint venture between Basic Refractories, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio and Magnesium Elektron, Limited of England. Basic Refractories, Inc. owned mining claims in Gabbs Valley, Nye County, Nevada, which produced the magnesite and brucite needed to produce magnesium metal. Magnesium Elektron, Limited owned the patent for the electrolytic process of extracting metallic magnesium from these minerals.

The Sands Hotel opened in Las Vegas, Nevada in December 1952. A controversial group of investors fronted by Texas gambler and oilman Jake Freedman and New York nightclub boss Jack Entratter built what was considered at the time one of the world’s most lavish hotels and a showcase Las Vegas resort. Freedman purchased the property itself for $15,000 and spent $600,000 on the construction. The Sands was designed by Googie California architect Wayne McAllister.