Oral history interview with Lee White conducted by Claytee D. White on May 18, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Lee White played professional football for the New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers. A promising career as a first round draft pick resulted in an injury in his first professional game. He retired from football at the age of 28 and moved back to Las Vegas where he had grown up on the Westside. Lee entered the hotel and casino industry as a dealer, retiring twenty-five years later as a Vice President of Casino Operations. His career in the tourism industry included work at the Sands, MGM, Desert Inn, and the Tropicana.
Subjects discussed include: Westside School, Weber State College, and the Sahara Hotel and Casino
Oral history interview with Su Kim Chung conducted by Claytee White on March 11, 2021 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
Su Kim Chung is the Public Services Department Head of University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library's Special Collections and Archives. This interview was conducted in part for the 20th year celebration of Lied Library. Su Kim first talks about the construction of Lied Library and what makes it special compared to the previous library building on campus. She then discusses her personal history and education that led her to UNLV, where she has now worked for 22 years. Her work involves manuscript curation, panel discussions with Las Vegas entertainers, and oral history collection among other activities. She has also written a book, Las Vegas Then and Now, that talks of the city's rich entertainment history.
Oral history interview with Susana Loli conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez on January 15, 2021 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Susana Loli starts her interview discussing her childhood in Lima, Peru with her seven siblings. After graduating college and with the unexpected death of her husband, Susana moved to the United States. She was able to return to Peru after some time to bring her family to America, and eventually they settled in Las Vegas after Susana remarried. Susana joined the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and worked at the Riviera Hotel and Casino for 19 years until it closed; she then moved to the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino where she is currently employed. In addition to her family and work history, Susana talks about the benefits she's found in joining the Culinary Union, her political work canvassing during the 2021 Georgia Senate race, and how COVID-19 has impacted her and others.
Please I’d Like to Grow: Conversations and Reflections on Student Activism at UNLV panel discussion conducted by Heidi Johnson on November 20, 2016 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this discussion, faculty, students, and alumni of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) discuss student activism, university exhibits and programs to promote diversity, environmental justice, and racial and sexual antidiscrimination. The discussion was held from 2-4 p.m. in the Goldfield Room of Lied Library and moderated by Heidi Johnson, UNLV social sciences librarian. Panelists include: UNLV student Michael Curtis, Black Student Organization; UNLV student Briceida Hernandez, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) and Spectrum; UNLV alumnus Robert Leavitt, former Rebel Yell photographer and Vietnam veteran; UNLV alumna Tara Pike-Nordstrom, Recycling Manager and Campus Sustainability Coordinator; and UNLV Associate Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Degree Programs Anita Revilla, Ph.D.
Oral history interview with Francis Oh Allen-Palenske conducted by Stefani Evans on June 30, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Francis describes her childhood growing up in Lousiana with a white father and Korean mother. She recalls the family relocating to Reno, Nevada in 1983 where Francis obtained her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She describes serving as a staffer in Washington, D.C. for Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV) before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her Korean mother, maternal grandmother, and maternal aunts as strong, smart, business-minded women. Throughout the interview, she discusses Korean traditions, celebrations, clothing, and foods, as well as Korean cosmetics and views about skin color.
Oral history interviews with Diana Bennett conducted by Claytee D. White on February 4, 2022 and April 16, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In these interviews, Bennett discusses growing up as the daughter of William "Bill" Bennett, the visionary behind Circus Circus, Excalibur, Luxor, and the Sahara hotels. She recalls no one hiring her after dropping out of Arizona State University to pursue her passion of entering the gaming industry. Finally, Dick Thomas hired Bennett to work at the Flamingo. Today, Diana Bennett is the CEO and co-founder of Paragon Gaming, a developer and operator of gaming-based properties, second generation casino operator, and one of the most effective and respected executives in the gaming industry. Bennett discusses her role in developing, constructing, and managing the River Cree Reserve outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the first ever First Nations gaming property in Alberta.
Oral history interview with Jon Cobain conducted by Claytee D. White on March 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Cobain describes his childhood growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and living in a trailer while his father built the family's home. Cobain is the first graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), as he walked across the stage first, thus becoming the first to receive a degree from UNLV. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business, Cobain attended Northwestern for graduate school. He discusses time spent working in Venezuela, and the value of learning other cultures and building international relationships. At the time of the interview, Cobain is matching gifts to the Jon Cobain Lee Business School at UNLV up to $2.3 million to help first-generation scholars. Other subjects discussed include the Nevada Test Site, Frank Sinatra, and Hoover Dam.
Oral history interview With Carolyn Sparks conducted by Claytee D. White on June 7, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Sparks describes her childhood growing up in Overton, Nevada where her father worked as a mining engineer. Later the family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where her father invested in the El Cortez and Showboat hotels. Sparks received a degree from the University of California, Berkeley before returning to Las Vegas to work at an insurance company, where she met her husband, Kenneth. Sparks discusses their shared adventure insuring many of the businesses on the Las Vegas Strip while simultaneously entering the world of philanthropy. Sparks became area Chairperson of the American Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Junior Mesquite Club, and founded the Nevada Children's Center. Sparks served on the Nevada Board of Regents from 1984 to 1996, on the Board of Directors of the Showboat Hotel & Casino, and as president of the family's International Insurance Services, Ltd.
Oral history interview with Susan and Irwin Molasky conducted by Michael Geeser on May 15, 2006 for the I Remember When: Recollections from Las Vegas Jewish Leaders Oral History Project. They talk about the founding of the Nathan Adelson Hospice and about the Jewish community in Las Vegas, Nevada. Irwin talks about building the first high-rise condominium and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, about building Sunrise Hospital and Boulevard Mall, about the future of Las Vegas, light rail in the city, and the Las Vegas downtown and its future. They also discuss the water supply in southern Nevada and the possibility of a high-speed railroad from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Oral history interview with Maria Banks conducted by Barbara Hoyt on September 23, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Banks discusses her experiences managing a jukebox company, owning and operating two restaurants, and working for a music company. She also discusses her Mormon religion and the relationship she had with her late husband. Banks also discusses the change in climate over time, specifically the increasing humidity.