In this interview, George reflects upon his life in Las Vegas, particularly the period as ma?tre d? of the Sand?s Copa Room. Joined by his daughter - and former United States Democratic Congresswomen-Shelley Berkley, George shares stories of working in the gaming industry during this unique era, including those of Frank Sinatra and Wayne Newton. He also talks about his life as a professional gambler.

Born on February 28, 1925 in Sommerville, New Jersey, George Levine?s family moved to his childhood home, Manhattan?s Lower East Side, when he was six months old. George served on a United States Navy aircraft carrier for thirty months during World War II. After returning home, he met his first wife Estelle, with whom he had two daughters, and soon moved to Kiamesha Lake, New York to work at the Concord Resort Hotel. In 1963, George and his family moved to Las Vegas and took his first job at Mr. Sy?s Casino. Six months later he began waiting tables at the Sands Hotel and Casino. He worked his way up the ranks and was ma?tre d' from 1979 until the hotel closed in 1996.

Part of an inverview with Sonny Thomas conducted by Barbara Tabach, February 28, 2013. Thomas describes job options when he arrived in Las Vegas in 1959.

Alan Clancy grew up in Sydney, Australia, the second son of famous ballroom-dancing parents. He recalls that he had incredible energy as a child, and, therefore, his parents enrolled him in the Shirley de Paul Studio to learn gymnastics, tap, ballet, and jazz. He also became a soprano singer. This training did well for him for as he went through high school he won trophies in sports and participated in musical productions. Eventually, because of a neighboring friend, Kay Dickerson, Alan moved to the Rudas Acrobatic Studio where he received further training and eventually contracted with Tibor Rudas to participate in an entertainment group called “The Las Vegas Dancers”. He was only seventeen when the group boarded a ship for Hong Kong in an enterprise which would eventually allow the dancers to entertain around the world for approximately two and a half years. When the group returned, Alan auditioned for the Tommy Leonetti television show and then for Les Girls in Sydney. Eventually Tibor Rudas appeared with a contract for Alan, when he had just turned twenty-one, to fly to Las Vegas to work in the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. When he arrived in Las Vegas, he was surprised at the size of the city and the hotels but was overly impressed by the neon signs, the showrooms with their nude dancers, the costuming, magnificent sets, the choreography, and the dress of the patrons. He remembers his first night performing in the Folies and the amount of stars in the audience, for example, Elvis Presley, Liberace, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Alan goes on to describe the many people that he met in Las Vegas, working in various shows, and the many friendships made over the years. However, he eventually became interested in opening his own vintage clothing store, Vintage Madness, near the Strip. He talks about his many customers, the stores around him, his creative ways of acquiring items to sell and the success that was made. Unfortunately, during the middle of one night the store burned to the ground which left Alan devastated. Eventually, however, he purchased three buildings on Fourth Street and opened an art gallery, a coffee shop, and a small stage. His mercantile interest allowed him to leave show business and briefly open a store in Laguna Beach, Southern California. It wasn’t long until Barclay Shaw asked him to work in “Splash” at the Riviera Hotel in Vegas and, therefore, he returned to show business. However, Shaw, his friend, died and so did his mother and he lost interest in his stores, renting them out. Consequently, he returned to live in California and began working with Aids patients. Alan returned to Las Vegas for the reunion of the cast of Folies Bergere and noticed the many changes made in Las Vegas from when he first arrived to perform at the Tropicana Hotel.