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Greenbaum, Gus, 1894-1958
Augustus Bertrand "Gus" Greenbaum (1894-1958) was a Las Vegas, Nevada casino executive with ties to organized crime. A longtime associate of Meyer Lansky, Greenbaum moved to Las Vegas in the early 1940s as an investor in the El Cortez and the race wire. In 1946, he became involved in the Flamingo, and after the June 1947 murder of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, he assumed control of the property along with Morris Rosen and Moe Sedway. Greenbaum turned Siegel's financial losses into a $4 million profit within a year.
Person
Transcript of interview with Mary Habbart by David Patt, March 7, 1975
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On March 7, 1975, collector David R. Patt interviewed dairy and vegetable farm owner, Mary Habbart (born January 1st, 1719 in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview offers an overview of life in Las Vegas in the early days, which included: atomic testing, floods, prostitution on Block 16, early Fremont Street and Duck Creek. Also discussed during this interview: Sunset Park, The Roosevelts, Bugsy Siegel, local government and the Hoover Dam.
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Alderman, Israel "Icepick Willie"
Israel "Icepick Willie" Alderman was a Las Vegas, Nevada casino investor and manager with ties to organized crime. Along with his associates Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Moe Sedway, David Berman, and Gus Greenbaum, he was involved in the El Cortez, the Riviera, the Flamingo, and the Las Vegas Club. Prior to living in Las Vegas, he was mob enforcer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was given his nickname based on his perfection of the icepick method of murder.
Person
Alderman, Icepick Willie
Israel "Icepick Willie" Alderman was a Las Vegas, Nevada casino investor and manager with ties to organized crime. Along with his associates Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Moe Sedway, David Berman, and Gus Greenbaum, he was involved in the El Cortez, the Riviera, the Flamingo, and the Las Vegas Club. Prior to living in Las Vegas, he was mob enforcer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was given his nickname based on his perfection of the icepick method of murder.
Person
Lansky, Meyer, II, 1957-
At the time of this oral history, Meyer Lansky II had found a sentimental attachment to his namesake, Meyer Lansky, his grandfather. Though it was considered against Eastern European Jewish tradition, Meyer II’s parents had named him after the grandfather.
Person
Photograph of YESCO workers installing Vegas Vic at the Pioneer Club (Las Vegas), 1951
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Workers installing the now-famous Vegas Vic sign on the front of the Pioneer Club. Stamped on back of photo: "Photo by Desert Sea News Bureau. Las Vegas, Nevada." Transcribed from photo sleeve: "First Highrise Hotel -- Center of action downtown throughtout the '30s was the Apache Hotel which boasted an elevator and a nitery downstairs. The corner is now Binion's Horseshoe, but the spot has undergone many name changes from Tony Cornero's 'S.S. Rex' to the Eldorado where the mobs were fighting for control of the race wire. Bugsy Siegel's influence was first felt here in the early '40s."
Site Name: Pioneer Club
Address: 25 East Fremont Street
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Jews Wandering in the Desert: A History of the Jewish Community of Las Vegas by Joel Fleekop, May 1, 2000
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Joel Fleekop's senior honors thesis from Brandeis University titled: "Jews Wandering in the Desert: A History of the Jewish Community of Las Vegas."
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