Jay Duarte started in the gaming industry at Casino Data Systems and eventually assisted in the opening of Green Valley Ranch Resort where he eventually went to become a slot technician. Duarte then moved to Thunder Valley Resort as a slot technical manager and held the same role at Green Valley Ranch thereafter. In 2003, Duarte became an assistant technical compliance director with Konami Gaming and then returned to Station Casinos to help open Red Rock Resort in 2005.
Lawrence Epstein was born Ike Lawrence Epstein in 1966 to Kenny Epstein and Donna Goldstein. He attended Vanderbilt University (BA 1989, JD 1992). After graduation from law school, Lawrence returned to live fulltime in Las Vegas, where he practiced law for few years. He later became an executive with the UFC, where he is the current COO. He is also active in the family business, the El Cortez Hotel and Casino with his father and sisters. In addition, Lawrence serves the community as a board member of Meadows School and on the Stadium Board.
Dr. Frank P. Silver (1934 - ) was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Silver relocated his OB/GYN medical practice to the small community of Boulder City in 1973. Before the move, Dr. Silver graduated from La Salle University, Jefferson University Medical School and did his residency at Nazareth Hospital.
Rabbi Mendy Harlig was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1996. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998. Rabbi Mendy Harlig is the spiritual leader of the Chabad of Green Valley, later renamed Chabad of Henderson. He was introduced to the Las Vegas community in 1990 by his brother Rabbi Shea Harlig. Hasidic Judaism has surrounded Mendy since his youth in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He seemed destined to become a Chabad rabbi.
Ellis Landau is a member of the board of trustees of the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Boyd Gaming Corporation and served as a financial executive in the gaming and hospitality industries for more than thirty years. In 2006 Landau was honored as "Man of the Year" by Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas. He served as the temple's president from 2009 to 2010 and is a founder of its Warsaw Memorial Garden.
Roberta “Bobbie” Kane (1932 - ) is the first known Jewish child born in Las Vegas. Her parents, Sallie and Mike Gordon, owned liquor stores and are among the founders of the first Jewish congregation in Las Vegas.
Bobbie is a 1950 graduate of Las Vegas High School and briefly attended Southern California. When she returned several years later, she pursued a career with the Desert Inn group of hotels and helped open the Stardust in 1957.
Harold Henry James "Hal" Erickson was the second Director of Libraries for Nevada State University, later known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He came to UNLV in 1965 and began expanding Special Collections to include many gaming, Southern Nevada, and local history collections. He retired in 1993 after many years of service on local boards and his dedicated library work.
Sources:
Hal Erickson Correspondence, 1960-1993. MS00745. Special Collections and Archives, University
Janet Savalli's family moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Henderson, Nevada, in 1945 so her father could work at the Basic Magnesium plant. A few years later, when she was a junior in high school, Janet began her 46-plus years career at the Southern Nevada Telephone Company, which eventually became Sprint. During that period she held several positions, including operator, supervisor, schedule clerk, trainer, investigator, and community relations coordinator. Janet also talks about the atomic bomb testing at Camp Mercury and Camp Desert Rock near Las Vegas.
Tona Cashman was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Leah Barker and James Cashman, Sr. on September 23, 1924. She competed in beauty pageants and won both Miss Las Vegas and Miss Helldorado in 1941. She graduated from Las Vegas High School and attended finishing school in Missouri. She later attended Sawyers School of Business in Los Angeles, California. She married Robert L. Margison, but the couple divorced and she married Charles Henry Siefert. Siefert was a prominent banking executive in Las Vegas, Nevada.