Oral history interview with Marc Ratner conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on January 9, 2025 for the Game On! The Oral History of Sports in Las Vegas Project. In this interview, Ratner recalls arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada as a teenager with his parents and attending John C. Fremont Junior High School and Las Vegas High School. It was in high school that he formed a lifetime friendship with Sig Rogich, which later helped shape his career. Following high school, he graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1966. In Reno, he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and played baseball and ran track. Following his graduation from UNR, he returned to Las Vegas and in 1980, he joined Rogich at R&R Advertising until Rogich left in 1992 to become United States Ambassador to Iceland. In 1985, he joined the five-member Nevada Athletic Commission, becoming Executive Director in 1993. He recalls Lorenzo Fertitta approaching him in 2005 to join UFC; he resigned and eventually resigning from the Athletic Commission in 2006 to join UFC. Throughout the interview, he recounts presiding over iconic boxing matches over the years, tensions between owners of UFC and various unions, hall of fame inductions, and working as a shot clock operator for the UNLV Rebels. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
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Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews
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Collection Number: OH-03922 Collection Name: Game On! The Oral History of Las Vegas Sports Interviews Box/Folder: Digital File 00