As she ponders a possible run for Nevada State Governor in 2018, former Nevada State Assemblywoman and current Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani recalls her first vacation to Las Vegas in summer of 1978 with some girlfriends from Johnson County, Kansas. After visiting the Special Education department at UNLV, Chris decided to stay. In this interview, the special education teacher talks of her experiences finding an apartment, enrolling in the Master’s in Education program at UNLV, tending bar, finding a teaching job, and entering union politics, where she met future husband Gary Gray. Chris also discusses campaigning for the Nevada State Assembly, where she served 1991 to 2006, and for Clark County Commission, where she began representing District E in 2006 and is now serving her third and final term. She speaks to the politics of a publicly funded stadium for professional football; she describes plans for the revitalization of the Maryland Parkway corridor, and she ruminates on the UNLV Medical School and the breakup of the Clark County School District, currently the sixth largest school district in the United States. She also shares her thoughts on her future political plans—but not entirely.
Interviewed by David Schwartz. Russell Terbeek born in Cleveland in 1956. He was going to be a sound tech or a lighting tech for bands after college, but his contact person for that industry disappeared. His uncle was a bell captain at Circus Circus, so he told Russell about their dealer program, and Russell came to Las Vegas to be in it. Russell worked for Circus Circus in various properties in Las Vegas and Laughlin 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. At one point he moved in with a woman who lived in Rancho Cucamonga, so he helped open the Pala Casino and worked as shift manager there and as table games manager at the Soboba Casino. Russell also worked at Harrah's Kansas City and Harrah's North Kansas City. At the time of the interview, he worked at Arizona Charlie's Boulder Casino. Subjects: Circus Circus, Edgewater, Colorado Belle, Golden Nugget Laughlin, Rio, Treasure Island, Pala, Soboba, Morgono, M, Arizona Charlies
Ethelda Thelan takes a detailed look back at her long career in public nursing, starting with her education at University of California San Francisco. She came to Nevada in June of 1951, after working at the school of nursing in Charlottesville, Virginia. After two years at the Washoe Medical Center in northern Nevada, Ethelda became a staff public health nurse at Washoe County Health Department and eventually joined the Nevada Nurses Association (1955). She mentions many doctors and nurses with whom she worked in both northern and southern Nevada, and details responsibilities and actions taken by her and others for both public health and continuing education for nurses. Ethelda offers up memories of early Las Vegas, opinions on how Las Vegans felt about atomic testing at the Test Site, her varied work history, and her continuing education business. She also suggests other sources for researching information about the medical profession in Nevada.
Paula Morey interviews a former Desert Inn pit boss, Robert Francis Bergin (b. 1891), at his residence (a motel room) on March 5, 1981. During the interview Bergin discusses his personal history, the opening of the Desert Inn and other casinos, the gambling industry, his visits to Cuba, Wilbur Clark, Howard Hughes, and women in gaming.
Diane Spero interviews her neighbor, Brian Block, born in Chicago in 1945, about the construction business, community planning, architectural design, and his personal feelings in regards to the development of the Las Vegas area. Block also discusses legalized gambling, politics, mass transit problems, and other social and environmental changes in Nevada.