Interviewed by David Schwartz. Howard Dreitzer grew up in Miami. He came to Las Vegas in 1974 and went to dealer school on the GI Bill. Howard starting in gaming dealing craps at the Nevada Club and worked at several casinos downtown. Then he became a box and floor man at the Flamingo Hilton. Howard moved to Atlantic City and was a pit boss and later a shift manager at several casinos there. Then he worked at the Harrahs New Orleans Casino & Hotel until it went bankrupt. Howard was hired by the Hilton and worked at the Jupiter Casino and other properties in Australia, then was hired by Seminole Gaming in Florida to set up table games at various properties. Subjects: Nevada Club, California Club, Mint, Flamingo, Frontier, Sands AC, Golden Nugget AC, Golden Nugget LV, Trump Plaza, Showboat AC, Harrah's New Orleans, Conrad Jupiters, Seminole Gaming

Interviewed by David Schwartz. Chris Tonemah came to Las Vegas with her husband. Her marriage didn't work out, so she went to dealer school and got a job as a dice shill and a dealer at the Four Queens before women were really accepted in those jobs. She worked at the MGM Grand and talks about the fire in 1980. Chris also worked at Caesars Palace, the Venetian, and the Palazzo. Subjects: Four Queens, MGM, Caesars Palace, Venetian/Palazzo

Interviewed by David Schwartz. Gary Sanoff grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He went to college to study to be a teacher, but never finished. Gary went on the road with his band, but decided to do something else. His parents had moved to Las Vegas, and his father was a dealer. In 1979 he moved to Las Vegas and went to dealer school to be a craps dealer. Gary started at the Nevada Hotel and worked there for two weeks, then he worked at the El Cortez, then went to the Union Plaza where he was a box man and then a floor man. He moved to the Desert Inn and was a dealer and then a floor man there. Next he moved to the Bellagio, was a pit manager, assistant shift manager, shift manager, Interim Vice President of Table Games, and was director at the time of the interview. Nevada, El Cortez, Union Plaza, Desert Inn, Bellagio

Interview for Table Games Management Oral History Project.

Mike DeJong grew up in Michigan and moved to Las Vegas in 1990 at the age of 21. DeJong attended and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and entered the casino industry as a pit clerk at The Mirage. He also worked as a floor representative for Club Mirage, the casino’s players club, before going into the MAP program which allowed him to learn about and transition into supervisory roles. DeJong became an assistant shift manager at The Mirage and eventually became shift manager at that property until moving to Bellagio as it was opening to become a slot manager in 1998. DeJong then became director of slot operations at Bellagio and in 2005 went to the New York-New York property as director of slot operations and marketing, which eventually led him into the position of vice president of casino operations and marketing. DeJong currently works at Wynn Las Vegas as vice president of slot operations and marketing. In his interview, DeJong discusses the different aspects of his various positions in Las Vegas Strip casinos, and he talks about the qualities of both good and bad slot managers, specifically in terms of making decisions and interacting with customers. He also describes his philosophy on what makes a good slot floor and how target clientele is considered. DeJong also talks about the transition from coins to ticketing in slot machines and his experience witnessing both resistance and the realization of benefits from that change. He also discusses how the casino industry has changed overall and what he believes the future of the slot floor will look like in ten years. DeJong finalizes the interview by talking about his personal gambling experiences and also by providing advice to young people who want to go into the slot industry.

Justin Beltram is a native Las Vegan who grew up on Sunrise Mountain and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Beltram entered the gaming industry in 2000 by becoming a slot analyst at The Mirage. He would later become both manager and director of slot operations and marketing at that property before becoming executive director of slot operations and marketing at Treasure Island. In 2008, Beltram moved on to become vice president of slot operations and marketing at Bellagio and in 2011 went to work at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore as vice president of slots. Beltram is currently the vice president of slot operations at the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, a position he has held since 2014. Beltram’s interview begins with a brief description of his background and his progression in the casino industry, including some of his early duties in slot analysis. Beltram also describes his experience in moving to Singapore, the differences between Las Vegas and Singapore, and how he eventually transitioned from a property role to a corporate role. He mentions some of his mentors throughout his career and also describes the qualities of both good and bad slot managers, from shift managers to higher management positions. He also discusses his different approaches to local and transient customers in addition to his dealings with slot vendors. Beltram also discusses his experience during the transition from the use of coin to ticketing in slot machines among other major changes in general to slot machines since he started in the industry. The interview concludes with Beltram’s thoughts on the future of slot operations, particularly skill-based gaming and amenities stations, and also a discussion on Beltram’s personal experience with gambling and his advice to young people who are interested in getting into the slot industry.

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.