Jacob "Jake" Kozloff was a casino investor and manager in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1940s and 1950s. Born in Russia, he moved to Redding, Pennsylvania in 1905. Beginning in 1933, Kozloff was president and treasurer of Lebanon Valley Brewing Company in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. In the 1940s he moved to Las Vegas where he invested in and oversaw operations at the Thunderbird, the Frontier (1951-1955), and the Golden Nugget.
Albert "Al" Goot was president of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1955 to 1956. He helped build the first synagogue in Las Vegas in 1946: the Jewish Community Center at 13th Street and Carson Avenue. Goot owned several local businesses including Hollywood Furniture on South Main Street (during the 1960s) and two markets in downtown Las Vegas. His brother was Max Goot, another Las Vegas business owner.
Berkeley Bunker was born August 12, 1906 in St. Thomas, Nevada. His grandfather was a Mormon pioneer who moved the family to Southern Nevada. Bunker attended Moapa Valley High School in Overton, Nevada, and graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1926. After graduating from high school, Bunker filled a Mormon Mission for the church in the Southern States Mission. He met his wife during his mission and was married in the St. George Mormon Temple in St. George, Utah in 1933. Bunker passed away January 21, 1999.
Leonard Gang was born in New York in 1935. Leonard graduated New York University School of Law in 1961. He moved to Las Vegas to clerk with the Nevada Supreme Court. Both Len and his wife Bobbie grew up with Jewish traditions in New York and became members of Temple Beth Sholom upon moving to Las Vegas. Len is a Navy veteran, former Deputy District Attorney (1965-1966), District Court Judge, Clark County (1971-1974), accomplished criminal and civil litigator.
Oral history interview with Henry Kronberg conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 26, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview Kronberg talks about his childhood in Germany and Poland, his experience being imprisoned by the Gestapo, and being transported to a concentration camp. He talks about surviving the Holocaust and meeting his wife. He discusses being reunited with his sister in Las Vegas, Nevada after decades of searching. Kronberg discusses purchasing Stoney's, a loan and pawn shop, anti-Semitism, and water resources in Southern Nevada.
It was 1964 when Jack Simon met Marcy Stiel at a mutual friend’s wedding. Smitten from the beginning, the couple married shortly thereafter. Thus began their loving partnership that has flourished in business, community involvement, and most importantly in raising their two sons, Ron and Steven. The Simon’s can be a modest power couple. However, they are clearly capable of making things happen. When they first married, Jack was a California electrical contractor and homebuilder and Marcy became his business administrator. The Simons through their Electrical Company, Expo-Tech Electrical & Plumbing Services, Inc. won the contract to provide all of the electrical services for the entire 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, encompassing (26) twenty six venues located in California spanning from San Diego to Stanford University. The trajectory of the business was extraordinary, establishing twelve offices nationwide to provide temporary electrical and plumbing services for conventions and special events. Expo-Tech was eventually bought by industry giant GES. Their success was due in large part to Jack’s technical knowledge and Marcy’s administrative and marketing skills. With entrepreneurial zest, and over the period of eleven years, the couple found their way into the ownership of four local casinos in Elko and Wendover Nevada. Marcy was one of the first women in Nevada to hold multiple gaming licenses. In total, she held four Unrestricted Gaming Licenses. The Simons hosted Passover Seders for the Elko Jewish Community during their ownership of the casinos. In 2004, Marcy and Jack sold the four casino operations. Since moving to Nevada in 1994, the couple has made a warm and lasting impression, being generous in their focus for the well-being of the Jewish community. They are among those that actively paved the way for SB26, which outlaws government bodies from conducting business with companies that boycott Israel. They continue to be tireless advocates and philanthropists in Jewish organizations of Las Vegas and Nevada.