The Castaways Hotel and Casino Photograph Collection, approximately 1963 to 1987, consists of black-and-white and color photographic prints and negatives. Images depict the exterior of the entrance to the property, the mega-pylon sign, the pool area, and the “Gateway to Luck” replica temple in the courtyard area. The interior images depict various hotel rooms and suites, a couple dining, and a performance by Rusty Isabel, an entertainer in the Kon Tiki Lounge inside the property.
The Paul J. Richert Photograph Collection (approximately 1950-1951) consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives depicting the swimming pools at the Desert Inn and Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also included is an image of the Las Vegas High School Rhythmettes dance group and an image of the El Rancho Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
The Nadine Tobin Collection of Helldorado Photographs, approximately 1940 to 1959, contains black-and-white photographic prints depicting parade floats during Helldorado Days celebrations in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also included is one image of a primary school class in Las Vegas.
The First Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Photograph Collection, approximately 1930 to 1950, consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives depicting the construction of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also included are images of parish leaders and the ground breaking ceremony for the grand opening.
The Gary W. Royer Collection on Gaming (dating from 1950 to 2009, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1970 to 1995) contains research files, legal files, reports, and manuals about gaming written and collected by Gary W. Royer. The collection includes research and regulatory files collected by Royer while he worked at the Nevada Gaming Control Board. These files primarily document the legislation and regulation of gaming in Nevada, but include information on other states in the US and some international locations. Regulatory files include statutes, codes, regulations, revenue reports, Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission meeting minutes, and tribal-state gaming compacts. Also included are research files about casino, racetrack, and sports betting facilities that include data on organizations, monthly revenue reports, occupancy rates, management and operational control manuals, annual reports, policy and procedure manuals, and profile sheets collected for consulting purposes in Royer’s role as President of Casino Control Corporation (CCC), a private gaming consulting firm. Also included are subject and research files, vendor advertisements, catalogs, and reports; gaming industry publications; conference materials; audit guides; and a comprehensive collection of newspaper articles that document the US gaming industry in the second half of the twentieth century.
Oral history interview with Helen Yu conducted by Andrew Yu on December 1, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Helen Yu discusses her upbringing in Seoul, South Korea, her grandfather's immigration to the United States in the late 1970s, and her family's decision to follow him to Portland, Oregon in 1984. She shares her family's history and their experiences during the Korean War, including what life was like both in North and South Korea at that time. Helen Yu discusses her undergraduate education at the University of Oregon studying graphic design and her graduate education at Ewha Womans University College of Art and Design in South Korea. She shares her thoughts having both a Korean American and Asian American identity, her marriage and two wedding ceremonies to her Korean husband, and her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Helen Yu concludes with a discussion of her event planning work which led to her current role as the Operations Manager at the Emerald at Queensridge in Las Vegas.
In 2014, Charlene, n?e Friedkin, Herst retired from her state government career, settled into volunteer work, being a mother and grandmother, and being a grant writer for others. After thirteen years in Carson City, she came back home to Las Vegas. Charlene was eight years old when her parents, Patricia and Richard Friedkin, moved their family to Las Vegas from northern California. She remembers vividly the hot day that they arrived and moved into a rental house in the desert across from Woodlawn Cemetery. Her father, formerly in the grocery business, found work at Vegas Village. Two years later they moved ?into Las Vegas at the very edge?which was Oakey.? She recalls people she has known since those first years who have been instrumental in the growth of Las Vegas; the challenges of being a divorced single mother of four; and the career path that began with an invitation from Gene Greenberg to apply for a part time position at Channel 3, where he was sales manager. At Channel 3 she quickly went from part time to full-time. She started the Community Projects Board, which brought together nonprofit organizations together at the studio in the 1980s to identify and develop marketing campaigns that addressed social issues in the community. Initiatives included Baby Your Baby and Smoking Stinks. While working for Channel 3, she also attended UNLV and received a communications degree in 1995. In 1997 she worked at Sierra Health Services in public relations. Then in October 2001, Charlene started her career in state government as the Nevada State Health Division?s Manager of the Tobacco Program. Over the course of her thirteen year career with the state, she was promoted to positions that continued her dedication to improving the quality of life of all Nevadans. She was instrumental in the implementation of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (2006); improving prevention services to women; reducing the rate of substance use and abuse in the state. The date of her retirement, October 10, 2014, was officially proclaimed in honor of Charlene Herst by Governor Brian Sandoval.
From the Syphus-Bunker Papers (MS-00169). The folder contains an original handwritten letter, a typed transcription of the same letter, the original envelope with the stamp removed, and a copy of the original letter.