In this interview, Burton Cohen discusses his involvement in the Las Vegas casino industry, including booking entertainment for various hotels.
Burton Cohen's long casino executive career began in the mid-1960s when he accepted a proposition to become involved with the transformation of the Frontier Hotel. He left his south Florida roots and law practice to become a co-owner/general manager of the Frontier Hotel. Thus, began his highly regarded Las Vegas presence. For nearly four decades he served in the management of some of the Strip's most famous casinos: Flamingo, Dunes, Circus Circus, Caesar Palace, Thunderbird and the Desert Inn, which remains his favorite. In this interview, Burt reflects on the positions he held, the celebrities he hired and befriended, and offers a unique look at the behind the scenes marketing and entertainment strategies that he helmed. He shares stories of becoming entrenched in casino operations, his reflections of union experiences, and even anecdotes about moving his mother to Las Vegas.
On February 24, 1977, Bill Teepe interviewed Hal G. Curtis (born 1926 in Galt City, California) about his life in Southern Nevada. Curtis talks first about his work on the Union Pacific Railroad before discussing changes and development in Las Vegas, including development on the Strip and Downtown areas. He also talks about Block 16, the El Rancho Vegas fire, social clubs, and religion.
On March 2, 1977, Jonathan R. Bellingar interviewed Edward Gregory (born July 28, 1922) about his life in Nevada. The interview takes place at Nellis Air force Base; also present during the interview is an unidentified man. Gregory was born and raised in Nevada; he discusses leaving Nevada to serve in the Army during World War II before eventually returning to Nevada in 1950. The interview concludes with a brief overview of how Nellis Air force Base has changed since the 1950s.
Aerial photograph of central Las Vegas, with a blank property area planned for the International Hotel. The photograph, looking north to south, covers the area from Sahara Avenue south to McCarran Airport, Maryland Parkway west to the Strip. The following locations are labeled: Nevada Southern University, McCarran Airport, The Tropicana Hotel and Golf Course, the Dunes Hotel and Golf Course, the Flamingo Hotel, Caesars Palace, Castaways, the Sands Hotel, the Frontier Hotel, the Silver Slipper, the Stardust, the Hotel and Golf Course, the Landmark Tower Plaza, the Riviera,the Thunderbird, the Sahara Hotel, El Rancho Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention Center, International Golf Course and Hotel property, The Broadway and J.C. Penney's department stores (on the left) and Von Tobels Lumber.
Hazel Mae Bowden was born on February 22, 1922. She married Hershell Wade on November 30, 1939, and had one son, James Hedges. The couple divorced and in 1950 she married Charles William Hedges. She moved from Kansas City to Las Vegas with her husband and son in 1952. She worked briefly as a waitress in the dining room at the Thunderbird and then became a stay at home mother until her son was in junior high school. Then after she went to real estate school, she went to work in commercial real estate at Bond Realty.