Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews. Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews. Marc Ratner moved to Las Vegas when he was in the seventh grade in 1957. His father became owner of a retail beauty supply business. It also was about the time Marc became a bar mitzvah. The Ratner family belonged to Temple Beth Sholom, as did everyone at the time, and a favorite memory he recalls is of sneaking a glimpse of crooner Eddie Fisher and actress Elizabeth Taylor getting married there. While growing up, Marc showed no particular interest in being a star athlete. He played little baseball and participated in track as a long jumper. Nevertheless, on the day of this oral history interview, Marc is sitting in his office surrounded by sports memorabilia. It is all a testimony, a museum highlighting his decades of officiating and regulating sports events. His stories include newsworthy boxing episodes that ranged from the infamous ?Fan Man? parachutist incident in 1963 during the Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe fight at Caesars and the 1997 ?Bite Fight? when Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield?s ear. v In 2016, Marc was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, an extraordinary honor for a nonparticipant. He has long been a fan of the sport and talks about the first fight he ever attended, becoming a ring inspector in 1985 and then starting a new phase of his career in 2006, as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC]. In addition, Marc has dedicated much his life blowing the whistle at high school and college sports: he?s officiated on the football field for several conferences, bowl games and mentors would-be officials. He served as Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director for two decades. Among his community involvement is serving on the board of Jewish Family Services Agency. In 1997 he was honored by the National Council of Christians and Jews.

Toni Clark (born Lena Gaglionese) spent her youth in Seattle, Washington where she was born on April 4, 1915 to Angelene and Salvatore Gaglionese. Her father and mother moved to the Seattle area when they immigrated to the United States from Naples, Italy years earlier. Salvatore worked as a street cleaner for the city of Seattle and Angelene cared for the house and family until her early death. Toni grew up with three siblings, her father and step-mother, and an uncle and cousins next door. After attending Seattle’s Franklin High School for three years, she left. “I just didn’t like school so I quit,” she said, and spent the next couple of years at home. From these simple origins, Toni became “the first lady of Las Vegas” as some admirers called her, referring to the role she played in the transformation of Las Vegas from a frontier town into a glamorous resort town during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1941, before the Second World War began, Toni traveled to San Diego to visit friends and decided to stay. After a year of caring for a young boy, she moved into the Barbara Worth Hotel which was owned by Wilbur Clark. Clark’s father ran the hotel and suggested that Toni apply for a job at his son’s new bar and restaurant, the Monte Carlo. She had not met Wilbur Clark at the time and her shyness dissuaded her from making the move. Nevertheless, she did apply and went to work as the hostess of the Monte Carlo in downtown San Diego. Wilbur and Toni’s courtship began slowly. He gave her the name Toni, saying she “looked more like a Toni than a Lena,” and she kept it. In 1944, around the time Wilbur Clark relocated to Las Vegas where he had purchased the El Rancho Hotel, the couple married in Reno, Nevada and permanently made Las Vegas their home. Clark’s involvement in Las Vegas clubs and gambling expanded with the Monte Carlo downtown and the Player’s Club on the strip. But his dream to create a luxury resort hotel came to fruition when the Desert Inn opened in 1950. The fifth major property on the strip, the Desert Inn had several features that distinguished it from other places. The Skyroom offered a private club atmosphere for talking, music, and dancing. The Monte Carlo Room served French cuisine. The Doll House provided round-the-clock childcare for children of hotel guests. The Painted Desert Room, the property’s showroom, featured top performers and the Donn Arden Dancers. All these features combined to create a resort that offered guests an exquisite setting for a gambling vacation. Toni Clark had a special place at the heart of the Desert Inn’s social life. She brought a gracious and elegant charm to social events associated with the property. Although she said she was never involved in the business of the hotel-casino, she played a unique role setting a new tone for the enterprise. She entertained guests and dignitaries at the hotel as well as her home; organized fashion shows featuring the top designers of the time for the wives of high-rollers; and created celebrations of special events, notably her husband’s late December birthday, with annual parties. When Wilbur Clark died in 1965, Toni Clark remained active in the city’s social life. She did not disappear as others had, but continued to plan and attend social functions. As part of her service to the community, she took particular pleasure in her work with the Variety Club. She continued to reside in Las Vegas until her death in 2006.

Yearbook main highlights: schools and departments; detailed lists with names and headshots of faculty, administration and students; variety of photos from activities, festivals, campus life, and buildings; campus organizations such as sororities, fraternities and councils; beauty contest winners; college sports and featured athletes; and printed advertisements of local businesses; Institution name: Nevada Southern University, Las Vegas, NV

Full interview audio with Mike and Sallie Gordon in March 1977 in which they discuss arriving in Las Vegas and their business enterprises.