Musician John (Johnnie) Alvin Ray was born on January 10, 1927 in Hopewell, Oregon and spent his childhood on a farm before moving to Portland, Oregon as a teenager. He became deaf in his right ear at the age of thirteen due to an accident while on a trip with his Boy Scout Troop.
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Lawrence Revere, born Griffith K. Owens (d. 1977), was a former casino pit-boss and the "Master of Blackjack." He is most famous for the co-development of several blackjack systems and for publishing Playing Blackjack As A Business in 1969. During the 1960s and 1970s, Revere, also known as Leonard "Specs" Parsons and Paul Mann, was considered a blackjack expert. After his competitive career ended, he retired to teach blackjack and gambling. Revere died on April 23, 1977 after a bout with lung and liver cancer.
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Sandy Mallin grew up in New York and graduated from New Rochelle High School. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada from Westchester County, New York in 1977 with her first husband, who wanted to expand his wholesale seafood business. The couple had three children but were later divorced. Mallin was a leader in Las Vegas’ Jewish community and the first female President of Temple Beth Sholom.
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Charles Duncan "C. D." Baker (1901-1972) was instrumental for the expansion and development of Las Vegas, Nevada, especially during his time as mayor of the city from 1951 to 1959. He was born on February 26, 1901 in Terra Haute, Indiana. He received a Bachelor's of Science in civil engineering from the Rose Polytechnic Institution and went to work for the Indiana Highway Department. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to teach math and coach basketball in 1922.
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Cleveland A. Earle Rinker was born in Indiana in 1883 to S. Cleveland Rinker and Isadora (Fenwick) Rinker. Shortly after his twentieth birthday Rinker went to Parker, Indiana, seeking work as a stenographer. He soon began working as a clerk for Thomas Condon, a coal and oil dealer who was also an enthusiastic investor in Nevada gold mines. Condon encouraged Rinker to seek his fortune in the gold fields and, in late October of 1906, Rinker boarded a train to make the journey to Goldfield, Nevada.
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