Kolod, Ruby, 1910-1967

Ruby Kolod (1910-1967) was a co-owner of the Desert Inn hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Born in New York City on July 27, 1910, Kolod moved to Las Vegas around 1950 to purchase the Desert Inn with longtime associate Moe Dalitz and other investors. The Desert Inn group of investors had ties to organized crime and owned several hotel-casinos in Las Vegas in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964, Kolod was sentenced to four years in prison for threatening Robert Sunshine in relation to an oil-lease investment. The Gaming Control Board suspended his gaming license in 1965 and briefly included him on Nevada's List of Excluded Persons, also known as its Black Book. Apart from his business dealings, Kolod was a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas. He donated money to build the temple's Danny Kolod Youth Center in memory of his son, who was killed in a boating accident. Ruby Kolod died on August 11, 1967.