Search Results

Oral history interview with Cynthia Leung conducted by Vanessa Concepcion, Kristel Peralta, and Stefani Evans on June 24, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.

Cynthia Leung shares her personal history growing up in Palm Desert, California and the story of how her artistic parents met. Cynthia's mother, a brush artist, immigrated alone from Shanghai and Taiwan to the United States where she met her husband and Cynthia's father, a Chinese-American architect. Cynthia talks about her educational pursuits and her move to Las Vegas to become a defense attorney. She discusses her career as a prosecutor before becoming the first Chinese-American women elected as a Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge, and her experiences within the court system witnessing discrimination, mental illness, and the opportunity for diversity in law.

Subjects discussed include: Joy Luck Club (book); Women in Need of Change (WIN) Court; alternative courts; Las Vegas legal community.

Oral history interview with Burton Cohen conducted by Claytee D. White on July 9, 2013 as part of the UNLV Boyd Law School project, UNLV Gaming Law Journal. In this interview, casino executive Burton Cohen begins with his early life in Miami, Florida where he “fell in love with the hotel business” while working in his father’s hotel as a boy. He recounts how he abandoned his law career to return to the hotel business and how he came to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1960s to build up and manage operations at The Frontier. Cohen discusses his long career as a chief operating officer, touching briefly on some of the hotel/casinos that he helped launch and oversee in Las Vegas, including The Frontier, Circus Circus, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, the Desert Inn, and the Dunes. Cohen discusses some of the major changes that have occurred over the years in hotel/casino management and expresses respect for some of his contemporaries in the hotel industry such as Kirk Kerkorian, Billy Weinberger, and Gary Loveman.

Oral history interview with Marihka "Minddie" Lloyd conducted by Kristel Peralta and Stefani Evans on June 15, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Minddie talks about her upbringing in Manila, Philippines by her paternal grandmother and sisters (her Lolas) and her immigration to the United States at a young age. her personal history and childhood, including abuse that she suffered and her time in foster homes and a girls' home, Olive Crest. Minddie discusses the mentors she met through Olive Crest and her move to Las Vegas as an adult where she met her husband, an undercover Las Vegas Metro officer. Minddie talks about her employment with Hawaiian Air Lines, her support of the Injured Police Officers' Fund, and the creation of "Bamboo Bridges," a nonprofit organization based in Henderson, Nevada that aids abused, trafficked Asian women. Minddie also shares how she and her husband both contracted COVID-19 in 2020, and the untimely death of her spouse the day Minddie was released from the hospital. She shares how this event caused her to convert from Catholicism to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the religion of her late husband.

Oral history interview with Estelle Eliott and Julia Elliott conducted by Vanessa Concepcion and Stefani Evans on December 2, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Twins Estrellita "Estelle" and Julieta "Julia" Elliott share their personal histories growing up in Cebu City, Philippines with their grandparents. They discuss moving to the United States to live with their parents after the death of their grandfather, and how they preserved their "tricultural" Castilian Spanish, Filipino, and American identities. After graduating from Stevens College, an art and academic school in Missouri, Estelle recounts marrying her husband and moving to Las Vegas where she gave birth to her daughter. Julia shares how she followed Estelle a few years later to Las Vegas, and the two women share their experiences as entertainers on the Las Vegas Strip. Both Estelle and Julia joined Minsky's Burlesque before becoming a permanent act in Siegfried and Roy's show at the Frontier Hotel. They also discuss their performances with Kirby VanBurch at the Aladdin's Abracadabra Show, dancing at the Playboy Mansion, and how Siegfried and Roy helped to diversify Las Vegas entertainment by incorporating dancers and performers of color, like the King Charles Troupe, into their shows.

Oral history interview with Sarann Knight Preddy, Elizabeth Warren, and Woodrow Wilson conducted by Porter Troutman on July 19, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this forum, Knight, Warren, and Wilson discuss the history of West Las Vegas, Nevada. Knight recalls arriving to Las Vegas in 1942 and describes the African American experience at that time. She talks about being the first woman of color to receive a gaming license, dealing cards, and the city ordinance which banned African American dealers. Wilson remembers the living conditions before federal housing and race restrictive covenants in housing. Then, Warren talks about the city's early years, the history of discrimination against African Americans in the city, and the significance of the railroad in Las Vegas. The group answers questions asked by audience members throughout the duration of the forum.

Oral history interview with Charles Scott Emerson conducted by Claytee D. White on December 21, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Charles Scott Emerson discusses his work with the American Red Cross and the disaster relief the organization provided during the aftermath of the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview begins with a discussion on Emerson's early life and career in Missouri and how he moved to Las Vegas in 2004. Emerson talks about the American Red Cross response plans and coordinated operations that are in place for when the community is faced with a disaster, going into specific detail on the community-wide response to the October 1, 2017 shooting. He gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how relief work is organized, using this interview as a chance to praise the hidden heroes of the October 2017 tragedy, including the people at the Family Assistance Center, the Attorney General's Office, the Driver's License Bureau, and the Coroner's Office, as well as mental health providers, child care workers, blood donors, and more. Throughout the interview, Emerson puts special emphasis on the importance of community in order to offer support in the aftermath of a tragedy as well as to prevent a man-made tragedy from occurring again.

Oral history interview with Gene Noboru Nakanishi conducted by Ayrton Yamaguchi, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on April 2, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.

Gene Nakanishi shares his detailed family history from both his father's and his mother's families. He discusses his paternal grandfather's work on the Union Pacific Railroad, the family's internment in Wyoming during World War II, and his father's release from the camp by joining the United States Army Signal Corps. Nakanishi also talks of his maternal grandfather who was of the Bushido ("warrior") class in Osaka, Japan, and his grandfather's work with Christian missionaries. He shares details of his mother's restaurant employment in Los Angeles and her opening of Osaka Japanese Bistro in Las Vegas in 1969. Nakanishi also talks about being born and raised in Las Vegas, his musical schooling at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and his graduate education at Harvard University. He discusses his work as a band teacher for the Clark County School District, his involvement in the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program band camp, and his interests in jazz music.