Oral history interview with Don Payne conducted by Mara E. Vernon on March 19, 1997 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Payne discusses his career with the Las Vegas News Bureau. He talks about his role as Head of the Bureau and his work in promoting Las Vegas through media outlets. Payne remembers the Bureau’s partnership with the Union Pacific Railroad and the beginning of corporate ownership in Las Vegas hotels and casinos.
Oral history interview with Thomas J. Schoeman conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on July 18, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Schoeman discusses his childhood, education from the University of New Mexico, and the architectural community within Las Vegas, Nevada. He also talks about Jack Miller and Associates Architectural Studios projects and his favorite Las Vegas buildings.
Oral history interview with Abe Schiller conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 25, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Schiller discusses the history of the Las Vegas Strip. He also discusses his career as the head of publicity for the Flamingo Las Vegas. Lastly, Schiller discusses working with various stars and entertainers in order to draw business to the hotel.
Oral history interviews with Grady Aitken conducted by David Schwartz on June 03, 2015 for the Table Games Management Oral History Project. In this interview, Aitken discusses his upbringing and early interest in the gaming industry. He remembers completing dealing school at the Harrah’s Casino in Reno, Nevada, working for Bill Harrah, and interacting with high profile players. Aitken talks about junkets, differences between casinos in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and the licensing process to become a casino floor manager. Later, Aitken describes the opening of the MGM Grand Hotel in 1993, becoming a pit manager, and auditioning dealers. Lastly, Aitken discusses his role as Director of table games at the Westgate Las Vegas Casino Resort.
Oral history interview with Modestina Rivera conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on February 05, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Modestina Rivera starts her interview by describing her childhood in the Dominican Republic. She shares memories of her large family and their family history. Rivera recalls the political climate of the Dominican Republic at the time and shares how it affected her family. While in university, Modestina began experimenting with the fine arts, which would later become an important part of her career. She moved to New York in 1984 and began her work as an interviewer and producer. She discusses her career and how it brought her to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Rivera also shares her artistic career highlights and her passion for painting.
Oral history interview with James L. Willcox conducted by Carol Benner on March 04, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Willcox discusses working in a research office at the Nevada Test Site for the National Weather Service as a research meteorologist. Willcox later discusses the overall changes to Las Vegas, Nevada, specifically the effects that population increase had on the desert.
Oral history interview with Betty Blevins conducted by Emily Powers on March 18, 2008 for the Heart to Heart Oral History Project. Blevins discusses her career as an operating room nurse at Sunrise, Southern Nevada Memorial, and Valley Hospitals. She also talks about the first open heart surgery, the first corneal transplant, and the first kidney harvest for a transplant in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Oral history interview with Mimi Rodden conducted by Claytee White on April 9, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Rodden begins by discussing her family's Basque heritage from their immigration to California and then into northern Nevada. She then discusses her immediate family, especially her mother, and the beginning of ther own volunteer work, which led to a lifelong interest in historic preservation that began with fundraising for the Nevada State Museum. After moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, Rodden continued working on historic preservation activities around the Keil Ranch and other historic sites in Clark County. Her work led to a Presidential selection for the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. She then discusses her move to Boulder City, Nevada and her work on the preservation of Tonopah Mining District.
Oral history interviews with Ralph Denton conducted by Donalene V. Ravitch on February 24, 1980 and March 16, 1980 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In these interviews, Denton recalls growing up in Caliente, Nevada. He talks about aspects and events in the community both during his life and before his birth, including the school system, housing, mining, the importance of the railroad, the stagecoach, the advent of legal gambling, farming, and the periodic flooding. He also discusses Caliente's population and the increase in ethnic minorities and Mormons in the area, the importance of politics, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's whistlestop visit to the town, and the economy during the depression.
Oral history interview with Aaron Rosenthal conducted by David Schwartz on December 21, 2016 for the Slot Operations Oral History Project. Rosenthal discusses the various slot operations and marketing roles he held with MGM Mirage/MGM Resorts. He also talks about his experiences in dealing with slot vendors and responsibilities as a general manager at various properties.