David "Davie" Berman (1903-1957) was one of the pioneers of the casino business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berman was born January 16, 1903 in Odessa, Ukraine and grew up in Ashley, North Dakota. He was named Donald at birth but later changed his name to David. By age 16 he ran the biggest bootlegging operation in Iowa, and was also involved with organized crime in New York City and Minneapolis.
Person
The El Cortez Hotel and Casino Scrapbook (1963) contains a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, promotional event notifications, information on performers, and other events held at the El Cortez Hotel.
Archival Collection
Jerry Engel was born in 1930 in New Jersey and spent most of his early life in Long Beach, New York until the family moved westward to Las Angeles. Jerry is a retired Certified Public Accountant and loves to talk about the history of Las Vegas that he observed since arriving in 1953. That was the year that he moved to Las Vegas to join his older brothers, Morris and Phil, in their accounting firm. Their major client at the time was Desert Inn. Another personal connection with local history: the Engel brothers? mother, Esther Katz Engel, was among the early investors in the Moulin Rouge hotel/casino enterprise. Jerry graduated with honors from University of California, Los Angeles in 1951. His accounting career in Las Vegas is highly regarded and he continues to maintain a consulting practice. He remains active within the community and enjoys doing presentations based on his memories of Las Vegas history. Within this interview, Jerry highlights people, casinos and other observations of local history that he came into contact with over the decades. He provides insights about the role of an accountant in the gaming industry. He also discusses the influence of Jewish business leaders in and array of local gaming and non-gaming issues, including the retail world, Jim Crow era segregation, and the astonishing growth of the valley over six decades.
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The non-profit Jewish Nevada is the central coordinating body for fundraising, planning, allocations, and community services for the Jewish community in Las Vegas, Nevada and serves as the local chapter of the Jewish Federations of North America. Jewish Nevada has served the community since the 1960s and has raised several million dollars to support Jewish and humanitarian causes in Las Vegas, Israel, and in 59 countries around the world.
Corporate Body
