Chris Bianchi comes from Peru, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in hotel administration with a concentration in casino management and received his master's in hospitality administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2015. Chris did an internship at the Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino in 2002 as a dealer and was transferred to the South Point Casino and Spa as a pit manager in 2005.
Ed Walters was a pool and card hustler in New York City when he was in his 20s. He was asked by a major crime boss in 1959 to go to Las Vegas to find out if a card dealer was cheating. Ed did figure out he was cheating, so the crime boss got him a job learning the Western card games at the Fremont during the day and being a pit boss at the Sands at night. He worked at the Sands until 1967 and then at various other casinos until approximately 1981.
Interviewed by David Schwartz. Dave Torres was born in San Pedro, California, in 1966. He moved to Las Vegas with his family when he was 14 or 15. Dave started his career in gaming as a dealer at the El Cortez. He moved to the Barbary Coast, then he moved to the Stardust where he became a manager. Dave had just become a pit boss when he moved to the Rio. Subjects: El Cortez; Barbary Coast; Stardust; Rio; Palms; M; Cosmopolitan
Growing up in the Westside community, worked in the Sight N Sound Record Store. Brown spoke of entertainers in the neighborhood and their influence on community children. Second portion of interview filmed at PBS.
Transcript from interview with Jocelyn Oats by John Grygo. Oats came to Las Vegas with her family and grew up on the Westside. Her father was a leader in the community and a founder of Victory Baptist Church. Her mother provided child care for people in the community. Oats works with Nevada Partners and the Youth Employment for Summer (YES), and reflects on the community in Las Vegas.
Transcript of interview with Eugene Williams conducted by Claytee White on July 18, 2008. Williams discusses his life as a singer with various musical groups including the Coasters and the Platters, and traveling all over the United States and Europe. He left the Platters in 1990 and settled in Las Vegas. He was part of the Sound of the Platters group in the early 2000s.
Interview with Stanley Weiner by Kyle Wolff on March 12, 1978. In this interview, Weiner begins by talking about his father's employment, and then his own series of jobs, including as a department manager at Sears. He discusses living in different parts of town, population growth, educational opportunities, transportation, and recreation. The interviewer asks specific questions about sports, hotels, unions, and the weather.
Ivory H. Blue II was born and raised Las Vegas, specifically in the Westside neighborhood projects during the 1980s and 1990s. He describes his early childhood and what he remembers as a strong sense of community. Though grade school had its challenges, Ivory excelled in sciences and came under the watchful mentoring of Dr. Eugene McGaugh, a professor at UNLV. Ivory graduated with a master’s degree and has a long career already with NV Energy. Theresa Harris, Ivory’s mother, was from Hawthorne, Nevada and his father, Ivory Blue I, was originally from Edwards, Mississippi.