Skip to main content

Search the Special Collections and Archives Portal

Search Results

Displaying results 1 - 10 of 43

Audio clip from interview with Jocelyn Oats conducted by John Grygo and Claytee D. White, November 20, 2012

Date

2012-11-30

Description

Audio clip from interview with Jocelyn Oats on November 20, 2012. In the clip, Jocelyn talks about the beginnings of Nevada Partners, and her work with the teenaged youth of Las Vegas in the 1990s.

Sound

Transcript of interview with Burton Cohen by Claytee White, January 9, 2009

Date

2009-01-09

Description

In this interview, Burton Cohen discusses his involvement in the Las Vegas casino industry, including booking entertainment for various hotels.

Burton Cohen's long casino executive career began in the mid-1960s when he accepted a proposition to become involved with the transformation of the Frontier Hotel. He left his south Florida roots and law practice to become a co-owner/general manager of the Frontier Hotel. Thus, began his highly regarded Las Vegas presence. For nearly four decades he served in the management of some of the Strip's most famous casinos: Flamingo, Dunes, Circus Circus, Caesar Palace, Thunderbird and the Desert Inn, which remains his favorite. In this interview, Burt reflects on the positions he held, the celebrities he hired and befriended, and offers a unique look at the behind the scenes marketing and entertainment strategies that he helmed. He shares stories of becoming entrenched in casino operations, his reflections of union experiences, and even anecdotes about moving his mother to Las Vegas.

Text

Irma I. Varela interview, March 5, 2019: transcript

Date

2019-03-05

Description

Interviewed by Barbara Tabach. Born and raised in Zacatecas, Mexico, Irma moved to Las Vegas in 1989. She is the Cultural Program Supervisor at Winchester Community Center and has devoted much of her career to preserving Hispanic cultural traditions in Las Vegas. She has been an active leader in local events such as Community Roots, International Food & Folk Life Festival, World Vibrations, and Dio de Los Muertos.

Text

Margo Knowles interview, March 25, 1981: transcript

Date

1981-03-25

Description

From the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas, OH-01039. On March 25, 1981, collector Sonny Neighbors interviewed his mother, Margo Knowles (born October 13th, 1935 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Margo speaks about growing up and going to school in Las Vegas. She also discusses her work as a telephone operator in Las Vegas, and at the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada.

Text

Transcript of interview with Nellie Bunch by Robin Ducharme, November 20, 1975

Date

1975-11-20

Description

On November 20, 1975, C.A. (Robin) Ducharme interviewed Nellie Bunch (born 1902 in Chariton County, MO) about her life in Southern Nevada. Bunch first talks about her settlement into the Whitney Ranch area and her knowledge about the building of Hoover (Boulder) Dam. She also talks about the early utilization of water resources from Lake Mead, early sources of power, and the early use of evaporative coolers. Bunch also speaks about her experience as a postmaster and later discusses telephone technology and the early churches of Las Vegas.

Text

Transcript of interview with Will Provance by David G. Schwartz, July 14, 2016

Date

2016-07-14

Description

Will Provance was born in Mississippi and grew up mostly in St. Louis, where he earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Missouri before earning a Master’s in Business Administration from Shiller University. Provance would eventually attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he earned a Master of Science in Hotel Administration. He started in the gaming industry as a pool manager at Sunset Station, where he would eventually become slot analyst before entering Station Casinos’ management development program. Provance then trained in various positions at Red Rock Resort prior to moving to Green Valley Ranch as a shift manager. He then went back to Sunset Station to become slot operations manager and was promoted to director of slots at that property. Provance is currently the director of VLT operations at Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park in Northfield, Ohio. Provance’s interview begins with his discussion of the various roles he has held in the gaming industry, including the types of duties he was assigned at the different properties. He then describes the difference between managing slot machines in his earlier positions and video lottery terminals (VLTs) in his current position in Ohio. Provance then mentions some of the mentors he has had in his career, and he describes what he believes are the qualities of both good and bad slot managers. He also discusses what he believes makes a good slot floor, including the process of working with slot vendors in getting new slot machines for the slot floor as well as working with other departments in the casino. Provance then talks about how slot operations has changed since he started in the industry and what he thinks the future of slot machines will be, specifically regarding skill-based gaming. The interview concludes with Provance’s discussion of his personal gambling and his advice to young people who want to go into the slot industry.

Text

Transcript from interview with Jocelyn Oats conducted by John Grygo and Claytee D. White, November 20, 2012

Date

2012-11-30

Description

Transcript from interview with Jocelyn Oats by John Grygo. Oats came to Las Vegas with her family and grew up on the Westside. Her father was a leader in the community and a founder of Victory Baptist Church. Her mother provided child care for people in the community. Oats works with Nevada Partners and the Youth Employment for Summer (YES), and reflects on the community in Las Vegas.

Text

Reproduction photocopy of May 28, 1945 issue of the Desert Breeze, newspaper for Las Vegas High School, approximately 1990

Level of Description

File

Archival Collection

Leslie H. Smith Papers
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-01057
Collection Name: Leslie H. Smith Papers
Box/Folder: Oversized Box SH-081 (Restrictions apply)

Archival Component

1990 historical Las Vegas calendar, 1990

Level of Description

File

Archival Collection

Leslie H. Smith Papers
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-01057
Collection Name: Leslie H. Smith Papers
Box/Folder: Oversized Box SH-081 (Restrictions apply)

Archival Component

Photographic reproductions of Helldorado ladies (1935) and Fremont Street (1930s), approximately 2000 to 2017

Level of Description

File

Archival Collection

Leslie H. Smith Papers
To request this item in person:
Collection Number: MS-01057
Collection Name: Leslie H. Smith Papers
Box/Folder: Oversized Box SH-081 (Restrictions apply)

Archival Component