The Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers (dating from 1948 to 2017, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1975 to 2005) contain research files, reports, and presentations about gambling written and collected by gaming consultant Eugene Martin Christiansen. Most of the collection is comprised of research files and reports about legalized gambling, casinos, hotels, racetracks, and entertainment venues, including the economic impacts of legalized gaming, feasibility studies for opening new casinos and racetracks, popularity of off-track betting, horse and dog racing, table games, gambling addiction, gaming regulation, taxes, lotteries, and Native American gaming. The collection also includes research files covering state and municipal regulation of gaming, significant individuals in the gaming industry, prominent hotels and casinos, gaming research conferences, financial reports, and international regulation of gaming. The collection also contains a small amount of business records from Christiansen’s entertainment company Feature Film Finance & Production.
Archival Collection
On March 15, 1981, LeGary Stowers interviewed Victor Givens (born 1958 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about his profession in the gaming industry, specifically as a table games dealer. Givens first talks about his family background and then talks about his educational, occupational, and residential histories. He then talks about the various qualities required of individuals who work in the casino industry, his beliefs regarding religion and gambling, and some of the motivations and goals that are present for those within the field of gaming.
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Archival Component
The Ruthe Scott Photographs of Las Vegas, Nevada Hotels and Casinos contain color and black-and-white negatives and transparencies of Las Vegas hotels and casinos from 1960 to 1986. The collection includes the Sahara Hotel, Castaways Hotel and Casino, the Desert Inn Hotel, the Dunes Hotel, the Riviera Hotel, the Sands Hotel, the Silver Slipper Gambling Hall, Tally Ho Grounds, the Thunderbird Hotel, and the Hotel Flamingo. The collection also includes people gambling in Las Vegas casinos and two transparencies of Nevada politician Phil Tobin, who sponsored the bill to legalize gambling in 1931.
Archival Collection
On June 24, 1975, collector Donna Mattson interviewed native Nevadan mechanic, Stephen La Thair Hawley, (born October 15th, 1936, in Ely, Nevada) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview offers a historical overview of early Las Vegas including gambling and an in-depth discussion on local economic, environmental, and social changes.
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Oral history interview with Betty Pomeroy conducted by Jackie Ogden on March 23, 1976 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Pomeroy discusses her personal history, education in Las Vegas, Nevada, and labor unions. She then describes Nevada politics, specifically being active with political campaigns. Later, Pomeroy discusses gambling and its significance to the Las Vegas economy, along with the consequences that come with gambling. Lastly, Pomeroy recalls social life, recreational activities, and her employment in the hospitality industry.
Archival Collection