David "Davie" Berman (1903-1957) was one of the pioneers of the casino business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berman was born January 16, 1903 in Odessa, Ukraine and grew up in Ashley, North Dakota. He was named Donald at birth but later changed his name to David. By age 16 he ran the biggest bootlegging operation in Iowa, and was also involved with organized crime in New York City and Minneapolis.
Horace Ingersoll Bettis was born in Salem, Massachussetts on April 20, 1863. Bettis worked as an auditor of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railway for over ten years. He worked as Assistant General Auditor for Union Pacific Railroad (1898-1903) in Omaha, Nebraska, as Vice President and Auditor of the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, and served as Director, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Tampico Petroleum Company. Bettis died in Tipton, California on November 15, 1913.
Emma Mae "Mida" Dick was born on August 24, 1907 in Denver, Colorado. She was a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada for forty-two years and worked as a waitress for a hotel. She was also a charter member of University United Methodist Church. She married William Dean Dick and had one daughter, Bettie Lee "Mobie" Chappell. She passed away on February 2, 1989.
Source:
"Mida Mae Dick." Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas, Nevada, February 5, 1989: 47.
Lance Burton delights in talking about his magic craft and the joyful memories of his early and swift rise to become a master magician. This oral history includes memories of his rise to fame from youthful phenomenon to an over-thirty year Las Vegas career that began in 1981. He believes in the extraordinary value of magic and shares a poignant anecdote of a young autistic boy’s reaction to his magic show.