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Williams, Estralita C., 1956-
Estralita Wiliams was born on October 16, 1956 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a Clark High School graduate. Her parents had relocated from Arkansas before her birth. Estralita is studious and reserved, someone who preferred being in the school library. Though she can recall the segregation and unrest of the late 1960s and early 1970s, she also playfully shares family stories of growing up in West Las Vegas.
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Goldberg, Ira J.
Ira Goldberg grew up in the Bronx in New York City, New York. Goldberg moved to Las Vegas in 1978 with his wife from the Bronx, New York. Goldberg was a teacher in New York and continued to teach in Las Vegas. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and education and a master’s in counseling. While in Las Vegas he became an addiction specialist and a marriage and family counselor. He has owned his own small private practice dealing with marriage and family for the last thirty years.
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Salton, Al
Alexander “Al” Salton (1894-1948) was a founding member of the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community. Salton moved to Las Vegas in 1928 with his wife Rebecca and his children, Adele and Charles. He worked for a grocery store that sold bootlegging supplies, and he invested in real estate. After Prohibition ended in 1933, Salton opened Al’s Bar on South First Street. Al’s Bar was the first bar in the area to have guaranteed jackpots and was very popular among the Union Pacific Railroad workers.
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Smith, Judy
Judy Smith was born April 4, 1943 and was raised in Barstow, California. She was 15 when her family relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1958. It was a wide, open setting, an ideal location for riding her horse. Smith attended Las Vegas High School, worked for the Las Vegas Sun and earned a scholarship to the University of Nevada Reno. By 1967, she was married and moving back to Las Vegas with her young family. They chose the John S. Park Neighborhood as the place to call home.
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Textor, Ronald D.
Ronald D. Textor was born in Kirksville, Missouri, but moved shortly after his birth to Flint, Michigan. He started his own band, earned a degree in music education, and was in the North American Air Defense Command Band for three years. He then toured with the Glenn Miller Band under the direction of Buddy DeFranco. Textor earned a master's in music and briefly taught in several colleges in the late 1970s. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981 and played with the Norm Geller orchestra at the Sands.
Person
Kethen, Vincent, 1964-
Vincent Kethen was born October 31, 1964 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the year that desegregation of schools began. Like many African-American children living in the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, Kethen was bused out of his neighborhood in third grade to attend a white school. In his case, this meant attending John S. Park Elementary School and later other predominantly white schools.
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Peterson, Houghton
Houghton “Hoot” Peterson grew up in a small town called Virginia, Minnesota and played the trombone in his high school band. That led him to become a member of the highly regarded United States Air Force jazz band called Airmen of Note after enlistment. During a short tour at Nellis Air Force base, Peterson decided that the Las Vegas, Nevada entertainment scene might have career opportunities for him.
Person
Baker, Carol, 1943-
Carol Baker was born October 13, 1943 in a small village in England. Her entry into entertainment began when she joined the dance troupe known as the Bluebell Girls. She danced at the Lido in Paris before arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963. After leaving Las Vegas to return home for a few months, Baker received an offer to be a part of the Folies-Bergère at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.
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Sweet, Kevin
Kevin Sweet was born in Wellsville, New York. He always knew he wanted to run casinos. When he graduated from college in December 2006, he came to Las Vegas and entered the MGM Management Associate Program. Kevin went to work at Treasure Island as a slot operations analyst. He worked in the same position at Bellagio, then as director of slot operations at Aria. Kevin wanted international experience, so he became the executive director of global slot operations for Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
Person
Pickett, Tamara
Tamara Pickett was born Terry Lee Pickett. As a male, he served as a soldier in the United States Army. Terry finished her transition to Tamara with sexual reassignment surgery in 1996. As Tamara, she is known for her activism in Las Vegas, Nevada, especially her successful campaign for better health care provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for transgender veterans. She was also involved with the Nevada Gender League and The Turnabouts, a transgender support group in Las Vegas.
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