Judy Bayley at a public event relating to the Trailrides at the Palomino Room at the Hacienda Hotel and Casino. The unidentified man standing behind Judy Bayley is wearing a badge that says "Judy Bayley's 4th Annual Las Vegas Hacienda Trail Ride Thru Paradise Valley 1971." "Participant" is stamped on the attached ribbon. Judith “Judy” Bayley, namesake of the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was once known as “The First Lady of Gambling.” Judy and her husband Warren “Doc” Bayley opened the Hacienda Hotel and Casino on October 17, 1956. After Warren’s unexpected death from a heart attack on December, 26, 1964, Judy Bayley took over the ownership and operations of the Hacienda. By doing so, she became the first woman in Nevada history to be the sole owner and operator of a hotel-casino. An avid horsewoman, as a publicity campaign, Judy started “The Hacienda Trailrides.” Which some considered the social event of the year. The first trailride was held in December, 1968 to commemorate Pearl Harbor. The ride began at the Valley of Fire State Park and Ended in Overton, Nevada. Judy donated all proceeds from the trailride to benefit the local Veterans of Foreign Wars. Four Trailrides were held over the next four years, leaving from Tule Springs (now Floyd Lamb State Park), and from the Hacienda itself before they were discontinued after her death. After Judy’s death from cancer on December 31, 1971, the Hacienda was sold in 1972. The Hacienda’s doors closed to the public on December 10, 1996. The hotel was imploded on December 31, 1996 on the 25th anniversary of Judy Bayley’s death, and was broadcast on the Fox news network as part of their New Year’s Eve 1996 telecast. In March 1999, it was replaced with the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.