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Photograph of Frankie Lane, Harold Minsky, and Frankie Vaughn, Las Vegas (Nev.), 1970-1979

Date

1970 to 1979

Description

Pictured left to right: Frankie Lane, Harold Minsky, and Frankie Vaughn at the Dunes Hotel. The Dunes Hotel was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, that operated from May 23, 1955 to January 26, 1993. Designed by architect Maxwell Starkman, it was the tenth resort to open on the Strip. Bellagio now stands on the former grounds. The Dunes golf course is now occupied by parts of Monte Carlo, New York-New York, City Center, and Cosmopolitan, and T-Mobile Arena. Site Name: Dunes Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 3600 South Las Vegas Boulevard

Image

Transcript of interview with Michael Tell by Barbara Tabach, January 6, 2018

Date

2018-01-06

Description

Michael Tell, the youngest son of Jack and Beatrice Tell, is the publisher of the Las Vegas Israelite newspaper and the second generation of ownership. He briefly traces his Jewish ancestral roots back to Eastern European grandparents who settled in New Jersey and New York. He became a bar mitzvah in a conservative Jewish synagogue in New York City. At age sixteen, he accompanied his father, Jack Tell, westward to Nevada. The elder Tell was in pursuit of owning a newspaper and Mike was a perfect companion as Jack took over ownership of the Territorial Enterprise. Mike recalls it was a short lived venture and the family settled in Las Vegas, where his father went to work for Hank Greenspun at the Las Vegas Sun and then for Henderson Home News, owned by Morry Zenoff. In 1965, Jack Tell opened the Las Vegas Israelite. Meanwhile, Mike explored the lucrative business of concert promotions and opened a teen nightclub 1961 called the Twin Lakes Twist. He hired such talents of the era as Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton. Soon his business acumen grew and he moved Mike Tell Productions to Los Angeles. He tells the story of his last concert, booking Al Green, and being held at gunpoint. Then in 1979, he returned to work at the Israelite, which had a circulation of about 2000. The Jewish community was beginning to show signs of growth. He recalls running an ad in 1992 for High Holy Days services to be held at the Aladdin hotel. He used the word “Lubavitvh” in the ad and this sparked an interest in Las Vegas from the Chabad movement. He also recalls anti-Semitic episodes in Las Vegas, such as Ralph Englestad’s Hitler birthday parties and the presence of Skinheads. And he reflects on the changes in the community that he has observed over the decades.

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