Dennis Ortwein arrived in Las Vegas in 1956. He shares many details about growing up in Montana, his parents and siblings, his education, and the moment in time when he was offered an opportunity to work in Las Vegas. He also lays out the path his singing career took, starting with school plays, duets with his sister, and high school quartets. Once in Las Vegas, Dennis taught for a while, served as principal, and was involved in creating programs that helped integrate schools. He also talks about his church choir work, entertainment in early Las Vegas, above-ground testing at the Nevada Test Site, and anti-nuclear protests. Dennis served as lab school and student teaching coordinator in Nigeria. He offers several anecdotes and stories about the time he and his family spent there. After retiring early (age 53), Dennis acted as consultant to the Esmeralda County school board, executive director for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and wrote a book. He is currently enjoying his singing career by appearing at conventions, in musicals, and at weddings and memorials.

Houghton Hoot Peterson played trombone in his high school band in northern Minnesota where he grew up. That same instrument would lead him to be a member of the highly regarded Air Force jazz band called Airmen of Note after enlistment. Then during a short tour at Nellis Air Force base, Hoot decided that the Las Vegas entertainment scene might have career opportunities for him. He moved to Las Vegas in 1962, an era of celebrity performers and tourists who enjoyed the crowds and nightlife. Hoot's point of view was as a musician in the band, most often a Strip relief band. But he also has tales of famous musicians and late night jam sessions. Hoot's career spanned 20 years. Eventually the Las Vegas scene for live musicians began to change. When times got tough for Hoot, he worked as a carpenter and at a music store. In this interview he discusses his fascinating past and offers advice for today's musicians.

Amber Allan grew up in West Virginia and moved to Las Vegas at the age of 16. She entered the gaming industry in 2000 as a change person at Arizona Charlie’s Boulder where she later held the positions of floorperson and assistant shift manager. Allan would eventually move to Santa Fe Station in 2005 as relief shift manager, later to the Texas Station as a shift manager, and then to Palace Station in 2008 into the slot operations and technical manager role. She then returned to Texas Station at the end of 2008 as director of slot operations and then moved to Aliante Station into the same role in 2009. Allan started at Konami Gaming, Inc. in 2012 where she has worked as an analyst, product specialist, and, currently, as technical sales executive. The interview with Allan begins with her discussion of moving to Las Vegas and the experiences and roles she held as she started in the gaming industry. She discusses the various responsibilities she had in those roles, the types of skills required for them, and the kinds of disputes that are handled in certain supervisory positions. Allan also mentions and discusses the topic of hold percentage as it relates to slot and video poker players. She later describes her philosophy on what makes a good slot floor and also what customers are looking for in slots. Allan then provides the details of her move to the manufacturing side of the slot industry, and she gives her thoughts on what makes both a good and bad slot manager. The interview then shifts to the discussion of free slot play; ticket-in, ticket-out; changes in slot management; and the future of slot machines. The interview concludes with Allan’s discussion of her personal gambling as well as her advice for young people who want to go into the slot industry.

Patricia Mulroy served Las Vegas as the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District from 1989 to 2014. She served the state of Nevada as the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority from 1993 to 2014. Patricia helped to build the Authority, and saw the state through the devastating drought of the Colorado River. Patricia was born in Frankfurt, Germany on February 24, 1953. As a young girl, she lived in several different countries, but always felt that the United States was her home. Her experiences abroad fed her to develop a fascination with government work and state service. She arrived in Nevada in 1974 to attend UNLV. In 1989, Patricia became the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. She entered the field at a tumultuous time, facing the drought of the Colorado River and tension within the districts. She pioneered the Water Authority, which revolutionized Southern Nevada’s water rights system and allowed the districts to deal with the issue cooperatively. She worked with other Southwestern states and Mexico to support Las Vegas and Nevada through the drought. Patricia retired in 2014, but has chosen to remain active in politics and business. She is currently working with the World Bank in China on the World Economic Forum. She is also a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, a faculty advisor for the Desert Research Institute, and a board member of the Wynn Board of Directors.

Southern California native and lifetime resident, landscape architect Chuck Degarmo evokes the Golden State's iconic theme park as he reflects on forty years in the landscape industry and the ways his work has shaped the way Southern Nevada looks and works. It is fitting he would do so. Degarmo forged his professional ties to Las Vegas in 1993, during the heyday of the Las Vegas Strip's "family-friendly" era, when Kirk Kerkorian's MGM Grand Hotel and Casino hired Degarmo's firm, Coast Landscape Construction, to design and landscape their planned 33-acre MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park. In this interview, Degarmo outlines his work history, which draws upon the combined skills of a salesman, an artisan, a problem-solver, and an entrepreneur. Having owned his own firms and worked for industry giants Valley Crest Companies and BrightView Landscape Development, he discusses an array of topics from running union and non-union crews; Tony Marnell and design-build projects; importing plant material into Nevada; the Neon Museum and Boneyard; The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and Symphony Park; Steve Wynn, the mountain at Wynn Las Vegas, and Lifescapes International; the Lucky Dragon; Cosmopolitan, CityCenter, and the Vdara "death ray", and the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA). Throughout, Degarmo articulates his work through the lens of a lifetime Southern Californian whose talent has contributed much to the Southern Nevada landscape.

As Las Vegas native Jim Olson looks back on his law career, he keeps returning to the case that gouged a sooty scar on his memory, altered legal practice and technology in Southern Nevada, captured the world's imagination, and changed international building codes-the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino fire of November 21, 1980, that killed 85 people and took eight years to litigate. Olson became involved with the litigation because his firm, Cromer, Barker, and Michaelson, represented the MGM Grand's insurance company, INA, Insurance Company of North America. Juggling thousands of claims, Olson ended up working with the MGM's corporate counsel in Los Angeles, a legal firm in Denver, Lloyd's of London, and a special master; renting additional office space for taking depositions; hiring graveyard-shift transcribers, and purchasing the legal world's latest technological marvel-a fax machine. As a first grader, five-year-old Jim was known to walk home during the school day whenever the St. Joseph nuns scared him. As an attorney whose career path was inspired by Perry Mason and augmented by his argumentative streak, Jim offers insights into litigation about some of Southern Nevada's most iconic buildings, signs, and spaces. In this interview, he recalls his mentors, Al Gunderson, George Cromer, Bill Barker, and Kent Michaelson. He talks of construction defect cases including his first MGM Grand litigation, in which his firm represented the architect, Martin Stern, when faulty siding fell off the building, and the 1994 lawsuits that followed when the top of the newly constructed, 365-foot Las Vegas Hilton sign blew down in a windstorm. He shares tales of legendary fellow attorney Mike Hines and his annual Nevada Bar Association parties on the Mike Hines Ranch, and he speaks to litigation between Hank Greenspun, Howard Hughes, and Hughes Tool Company.

At the time of this interview, Don Ross has devoted nearly four inspirational decades of his life in the hotel and hospitality industry. In December 1987, at the age of 29, he accepted a position with Caesars and is now the Vice President of Catering, Conventions & Events for Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Don shares personal stories that lead to his “Don-mode” of providing a high level of customer service. From experiences with his grandparents to an extraordinary upbringing in his parents’ business, Green Chimneys, in Brewster, New York, Don received a surprisingly well-rounded educational foundation. As Don discovered his natural innate ability to serve others in the hospitality industry, he thrived and has never looked back. In recent years, his leadership talents and giving nature have been honored. In 2009, he was one of three distinguished industry executives recognized for their exceptional contributions to the hospitality industry as an “Industry Executive of the Year” during UNLV Harrah College of Hotel Administration’s 5th Annual Vallen Dinner of Distinction. Over the years, he has been honored for his work with Opportunity Village, his Jewish community involvement, and his continued work with Green Chimneys among many other organizations and causes.