Oral history interview with Russel Howard conducted by James W. Howard on January 10, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Howard recalls being transferred to Las Vegas, Nevada for work in 1947 and how impressed he was by the number of celebrities from the movie and entertainment industry that frequented Las Vegas in the early 1950s. He also discusses the expansion of the Las Vegas Strip and how rapidly the number of hotels grew.
Interviewed by David Schwartz. Howard Dreitzer grew up in Miami. He came to Las Vegas in 1974 and went to dealer school on the GI Bill. Howard starting in gaming dealing craps at the Nevada Club and worked at several casinos downtown. Then he became a box and floor man at the Flamingo Hilton. Howard moved to Atlantic City and was a pit boss and later a shift manager at several casinos there. Then he worked at the Harrahs New Orleans Casino & Hotel until it went bankrupt. Howard was hired by the Hilton and worked at the Jupiter Casino and other properties in Australia, then was hired by Seminole Gaming in Florida to set up table games at various properties. Subjects: Nevada Club, California Club, Mint, Flamingo, Frontier, Sands AC, Golden Nugget AC, Golden Nugget LV, Trump Plaza, Showboat AC, Harrah's New Orleans, Conrad Jupiters, Seminole Gaming