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Transcript of interview with Walter Weiss by Claytee White, November 2, 2010
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In this interview, Walter Weiss discusses how Judaism and boxing kept him out of trouble in his youth. Weiss grew up in the Boston area, and started boxing as a teenager. Weiss talks about his boxing training, becoming a runner for a bookmaker, and coming to Las Vegas in the 1950s to be a bookmaker for the Stardust Hotel, and working the slot machine floor. He had several different jobs in various casinos, and discusses different people involved in the gaming industry in Las Vegas.
Walter Weiss life story begins in a Malden, Massachusetts during the Great Depression. His early background was a blend of observant Judaism, secularism, and the effects of the era. He was a troubled youth whose older brother encouraged him to join him in boxing. As Walter explains: I was a wild kid and ... boxing saved my life. His aptitude for boxing led him to be a sparring partner in New York City's famous Spillman Gym. There he met and worked out with some of the greatest fighters of the era, including Rocky Marciano. He recalls how he turned professional while attending the University of Miami and how he first came to Las Vegas in 1958 to escape his personal troubles and find work with a local bookmaker. Thus began his diverse employment history in the casino industry. He details his various positions and the cast of famous and infamous characters of the times. For six years he return to New York and worked as a Wall Street broker before arriving back in Las Vegas in 1973. He talks about his property ownership, lobbying for an amendment to Senate Bill 208, his personal religious changes and a sundry of observations about the changes that occurred as the state took over gaming.
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Photograph of Rabbi Shea Harlig, Las Vegas (Nev.), September 22, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Rabbi Shea Harlig poses in the sanctuary of the Chabad of Las Vegas at 1261 Arville Street.
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Photograph of Rabbi Shea Harlig, Las Vegas (Nev.), September 22, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Rabbi Shea Harlig poses in the sanctuary of the Chabad of Las Vegas at 1261 Arville Street.
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Pamphlet from the 8th annual Jewish Family Service Agency Tsedakah event, 2015
Date
Archival Collection
Description
This pamphlet contains statistics about Jewish Family Service Agency services provided to the community, and sponsorship advertisements from local businesses.
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Harlig, Mendy, Rabbi
Rabbi Mendy Harlig was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1996. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998. Rabbi Mendy Harlig is the spiritual leader of the Chabad of Green Valley, later renamed Chabad of Henderson. He was introduced to the Las Vegas community in 1990 by his brother Rabbi Shea Harlig. Hasidic Judaism has surrounded Mendy since his youth in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He seemed destined to become a Chabad rabbi.
Person
Harlig, Shea, Rabbi
Rabbi Shea Harlig (1965- ) founded Chabad of Southern Nevada in 1990 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chabad of Southern Nevada is a branch of Chabad-Lubavitch, a worldwide Orthodox Jewish outreach organization. Rabbi Harlig previously lived in Brooklyn, New York, where he was born, raised, educated, and ordained.
Person
Photograph of Exterior of the Desert Torah Academy, Las Vegas (Nev.), September 22, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The Desert Torah Academy's Robert Cohen Educational Campus at 1312 Vista Drive is connected with the Chabad of Southern Nevada.
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Photograph of Exterior of the Desert Torah Academy, Las Vegas (Nev.), September 22, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The Desert Torah Academy's Robert Cohen Educational Campus at 1312 Vista Drive is connected with the Chabad of Southern Nevada.
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