Search Results
Larson, Mel, 1929-2016
"Mel was well-known for his marketing expertise as executive vice president of Circus Circus properties for 20 years. He was also known throughout the NASCAR community for racing in his early career days and was instrumental in the inception of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mel was in the U.S. Air Force, which sent him to Luke Air Force Base, where he met the love of his life, Marilyn. He then owned and operated a drag strip in the Phoenix area before coming to Las Vegas and joining the Circus Circus team for Bill Bennett."
Person
Photograph of members of the Sarno family with members of the Rogers family, late 1970s
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Archival Collection
Description
Image
B-roll of Las Vegas Strip hotels (daytime): video
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Archival Collection
Description
Moving Image
Burton Cohen oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Burton Cohen conducted by Claytee D. White on July 9, 2013 as part of the UNLV Boyd Law School project, UNLV Gaming Law Journal. In this interview, casino executive Burton Cohen begins with his early life in Miami, Florida where he “fell in love with the hotel business” while working in his father’s hotel as a boy. He recounts how he abandoned his law career to return to the hotel business and how he came to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1960s to build up and manage operations at The Frontier. Cohen discusses his long career as a chief operating officer, touching briefly on some of the hotel/casinos that he helped launch and oversee in Las Vegas, including The Frontier, Circus Circus, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, the Desert Inn, and the Dunes. Cohen discusses some of the major changes that have occurred over the years in hotel/casino management and expresses respect for some of his contemporaries in the hotel industry such as Kirk Kerkorian, Billy Weinberger, and Gary Loveman.
Archival Collection
David and Heidi Straus oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with David and Heidi Straus conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 06, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. The Straus family talks about growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Rancho Nevada Estates neighborhood, and changes in the city since the 1960s. David and Heidi talk about their parents and their careers as a lawyer and business owner, respectively.
Archival Collection
Various casinos and hotels along Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada: photographic slide
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Archival Collection
Description
Image
Terbeek, Russell, 1956-
Russell Terbeek born in Cleveland in 1956. His uncle was a bell captain at Circus Circus, so he told Russell about their dealer program, and Russell came to Las Vegas, Nevada to be in it. Russell worked for Circus Circus in various properties in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada for fifteen years. After he went to the Edgewater in Laughlin, he became back-up shift boss. At the Rio he was the table games division training manager. Russell also worked at the Treasure Island, Harrah's, and the Sahara. He helped open New York-New York in 1997.
Person
Richard W. Bunker oral history interviews
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Abstract
Oral history interviews with Richard W. Bunker conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on July 18 2017, July 21, 2017, and September 28, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Bunker discusses the history behind a wide range of events that affected the daily lives of Southern Nevadans. He talks about his role in a consolidation attempt between the Clark County and Las Vegas, Nevada governmental structures that was halted by the courts in 1975. Bunker then recalls working as a member and Chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and his work with various casinos and hotels including Circus Circus, the Dunes, and the Aladdin. He discusses replacing key people at the Gaming Control Board, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Operation Yobo sting. He then speaks fondly of his longtime friends Jim Gibson, Judge Lloyd George, and Jim Joyce. Lastly, Bunker discusses water rights, supply, and management issues in Nevada as it relates to the Nevada Resort Association, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Southern Nevada Water Authority, and the Colorado River Commission.
Archival Collection