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.

Debra March was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953. She is one of eight siblings all of whom attended Catholic school as children and eventually went on to professional careers. Debra's father worked for the city of Detroit, then moved to Las Vegas and was hired by the Clark County School District. He ultimately retired from there. Debra came to Las Vegas for the first time in 1973. Though she left for a couple of years, she eventually settled here and attended UNLV, earning an undergraduate degree in anthropology and biology. She then served a little over six years as a park ranger in Red Rock and Lake Tahoe. While at Lake Tahoe, Debra got her real estate license. She followed her husband to Ely, where she became a social worker. She ran the welfare division for rural Nevada in several counties and also kept her real estate license active. In 1989, Debra applied for the position of administrator of the Nevada Real Estate Division in Las Vegas. In her capacity as deputy administrator, Debra oversaw the activities of individuals who sold real estate. She and others in the division also monitored land sales time-shares, campground memberships and appraisers. She served in that position for four and a half years. In 1996, Debra was hired at UNLV. Many of the faculty members in the real estate school today are the ones who were there when she was hired, such as Mike Clauretie, Dick Hoyt, and Bob Aalberts. The Lied Institute, which she directs, supports an academic program in real estate and finance. It also conducts research, addresses community issues such as affordable housing, and offers adult and executive education programs. Debra is very involved in addressing many of the problems of housing and transportation that affect everyone living in the valley. In addition to heading the Lied Institute, she is also a Henderson planning commissioner, serves on the National Board of the American Planning Association, and is vice chairman of the board of the Urban Land Institute. She is proud of having established a real estate mentoring program that matches students with industry professionals, and she works closely with students to help them with their career goals.

Kenneth Fong reflects on growing up in Las Vegas and being the son of two successful and philanthropic community members, Wing and Lilly Fong. When Ken was born the family live in a modest home on 20th and Stewart. It was a close-knit neighborhood and era, kids played tag and roamed freely. When he entered third-grade, his parents moved their family to a newer subdivision near Rancho and West Charleston Avenue: the Scotch 80s. Their new custom home on Silver Avenue reflected Asian architecture and the family’s Chinese cultural heritage; it also included a pool and a small basketball court. Memories of the neighborhoods are distinct. He learned to be comfortable with his sister and he being the only Asian Americans in school at the time. He kept busy with community volunteering at Sunrise Hospital and tutoring younger children on the Westside among other high school activities. Ken speaks lovingly of his parents and their achievements, family outings to local venues such as Mount Charleston and Red Rock and to California, where they bought Chinese baked goods. His mother, Lilly was born into a large Chinese American family of ten children, each of whom achieved a college education. After her marriage to Wing, she moved to Las Vegas with plans to work as a teacher. Ken retells the story of her encounter with discrimination and overcoming that, and her trajectory to be the first Asian American elected the Nevada Board of Regents. His orphaned father, Wing, immigrated to the United Sates in 1939 to live with uncles. They worked as cooks in Las Vegas and established the first Las Vegas Chinese restaurant, Silver Café. Wing was merely thirteen years old and spoke no English. These were not to be obstacles. He would go on to graduate from Las Vegas High School, earn a college degree in business, have a successful career in commercial real estate and banking, building the notable Fong’s Garden. Ken calls his father his most influential mentor. Today Ken is also a successful in real estate management, active at Grace Presbyterian Church, involved in Rotary Club, and a proud father of two daughters.

The sign for The Smashed Pig sits at 509 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet.
Site address: 509 Fremont St
Sign owner: Martin Swift
Sign details: The original construction year of this building dates to 1952. Previous to the Smashed Pig opening in this location it was a tattoo parlor. This English Gastropub opened in 2015.
Sign condition: 4.5- but some neon may be needing a repair on the sign but still is in good quality.
Sign form: Entrance sign
Sign-specific description: Right above their entrance they have a rectangular steel backing with "The Smashed Pig" in white cursive letters, there is skeletal neon making these words illuminate pink at night time. Underneath this states "GASTROPUB" in print skeletal neon that whites up white. Above this rectangular sign is a plastic back lit sign pig which depicts alcohol laying on top of it.
Sign - type of display: Neon and backlit plastic sign
Sign - media: Plastic and steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic back lit sign
Sign environment: Located in the East Fremont District. To the East of this property is the Griffin, and to the West is Flippin Good Burgers.
Sign manufacturer: Las Vegas Signs
Sign - date of installation: Late 2015
Sign - thematic influences: The pig sign that they have above their entrance looks smashed, the slang term for drunk especially since they depict bottles of alcohol sitting upon the pig. Though the pig looks physically smashed down. This helps relate to their theme since the image they depicts the name of their property.
Sign - artistic significance: The theme is represented in the name and the sign since it is a gastropub where you can drink and eat good food.
Survey - research locations: Smashed Pig website _https://www.thesmashedpig.com/ , Eater Las Vegas https://vegas.eater.com/2015/3/24/8281761/first-word-the-smashed-pig-gastropub-to-fremont-street, Las Vegas Weekly https://lasvegasweekly.com/dining/reviews/2016/feb/10/smashed-pig-british-pub-fremont-street-downtown/#/0 , discussion with owner
Survey - research notes: On the Smashed Pig website they state that the definition of their gastropub is a pub that specializes in serving high quality food.
Survey - other remarks: Martin Swift and his late wife Linda Rodriguez opened this location in 2015 after being trained by renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa as well as opening the Hachi restaurant at the Red Rock.
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22
Sign keywords: Neon; Plastic; Backlit; Steel; Fascia; Building-front design