Oral history interview with Emmanuel Ortega conducted by Monserrath Hernandez, Maribel Estrada Calderon, Elsa Lopez, Barbara Tabach, and Laurents Bañuelos Benitez on 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Emmanuel Ortega was born in Artesia, California and was raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico before moving to El Paso, Texas with his family at the age of thirteen. In 1998 his family relocated once again from El Paso to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father joined the Carpenters Union. They settled in Green Valley and he began attending a hybrid community college and high school program allowing him to obtain college credits. He continued at the College of Southern Nevada for two more years where he was a photography major and later transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where he studied art history. He moved back to Las Vegas in 2011 where he began teaching at UNLV and received a PhD in Ibero-American colonial art history from the University of New Mexico in 2017. He is the co-host of the podcast "Latinos Who Lunch" where hosts discuss pop culture, art, and issues of race, sex, and gender in the Latinx community.

It was 1964 when Jack Simon met Marcy Stiel at a mutual friend’s wedding. Smitten from the beginning, the couple married shortly thereafter. Thus began their loving partnership that has flourished in business, community involvement, and most importantly in raising their two sons, Ron and Steven. The Simon’s can be a modest power couple. However, they are clearly capable of making things happen. When they first married, Jack was a California electrical contractor and homebuilder and Marcy became his business administrator. The Simons through their Electrical Company, Expo-Tech Electrical & Plumbing Services, Inc. won the contract to provide all of the electrical services for the entire 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, encompassing (26) twenty six venues located in California spanning from San Diego to Stanford University. The trajectory of the business was extraordinary, establishing twelve offices nationwide to provide temporary electrical and plumbing services for conventions and special events. Expo-Tech was eventually bought by industry giant GES. Their success was due in large part to Jack’s technical knowledge and Marcy’s administrative and marketing skills. With entrepreneurial zest, and over the period of eleven years, the couple found their way into the ownership of four local casinos in Elko and Wendover Nevada. Marcy was one of the first women in Nevada to hold multiple gaming licenses. In total, she held four Unrestricted Gaming Licenses. The Simons hosted Passover Seders for the Elko Jewish Community during their ownership of the casinos. In 2004, Marcy and Jack sold the four casino operations. Since moving to Nevada in 1994, the couple has made a warm and lasting impression, being generous in their focus for the well-being of the Jewish community. They are among those that actively paved the way for SB26, which outlaws government bodies from conducting business with companies that boycott Israel. They continue to be tireless advocates and philanthropists in Jewish organizations of Las Vegas and Nevada.