Search the Special Collections and Archives Portal
Search Results
T-Shirt Color: Red; Front: Duty Honor Trust Las Vegas Fire Rescue City Of Las Vegas ISO Class One Integrity, Fire Emblem W/City of Vegas; Back: Las Vegas Fire Rescue; Handwritten Text: 2002-3 God Bless J Fohs, approximately 2001-2012
Collection Name: New York-New York Hotel and Casino 9-11 Heroes Tribute Collection
Box/Folder: Box 447
Archival Component
Tucker, Samuel A.
Sam Tucker was a Las Vegas, Nevada casino executive and former bootlegger. He was an associate of Moe Dalitz in the Prohibition-era liquor trade in Cleveland before moving to Las Vegas in the late 1940s to invest in the Desert Inn with Dalitz and others. Tucker served as chair of the United Jewish Appeal in Las Vegas from 1953 to 1956.
Source:
Dalitz, Moe. Interview, 1977-1978. OH-02067. Transcript. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Person
Smith, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1902-
Benjamin Franklin, "System Smitty," Smith was a professional gambler who devised strategies for casino blackjack in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s. He was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in December 1902. He left home at the age of fifteen and headed west, looking for an adventure in California. He moved to Las Vegas in the early 1930s, helped secure land for the Golden Nugget in 1945, and later supervised field work on the Flamingo Hotel.
Person
Dazzio, Russell
Dazzio was born in Pueblo, Colorado and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1950s. He became one of the first students at the Hotel College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)-- then Nevada Southern-- in 1968 after he graduated from Western High School. He worked with Stardust Hotel and Casino executives while in his early 20s. Dazzio was a hotel operator for ITT Sheraton and was the founding partner for R&R Global Hospitality, a third-party management firm.
Person
Kelepecz, Dolly
Dolly Kelepecz was born January 22, 1956 in Covina, California. She traveled with the Los Angeles Ballet Society as a young dancer and eventually her career opportunities would allow her traverse the globe as a dancer and a circus entertainer. Kelepecz was hired as a dancer in the Bluebells at 19-years-old. She proceeded to become a Las Vegas showgirl, crossed paths with Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, worked with Fluff LeCoque, and became a dancer in Stardust Hotel and Casino’s Lido show.
Person
Weinberger, Jean, 1916-1993
Jean Weinberger (née Zinner, 1916-1993) was an active member of the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community. She moved to Las Vegas in 1966 with her husband, casino executive Billy Weinberger. In 1977, while serving as campaign chair of the Combined Jewish Appeal, Jean Weinberger helped to found the Jewish Family Service Agency.
Shemeligian, Bob, and Ed Koch. “Gaming ambassador Weinberger dies.” Las Vegas Sun. August 10, 1996.
Person
Smith, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1902-
Benjamin Franklin, "System Smitty," Smith was a professional gambler who devised strategies for casino blackjack in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s. He was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in December 1902. He left home at the age of fifteen and headed west, looking for an adventure in California. He moved to Las Vegas in the early 1930s, helped secure land for the Golden Nugget in 1945, and later supervised field work on the Flamingo Hotel.
Person
Walters, Ed
Ed Walters was born and raised in New York, New York. Walters was a pool and card hustler in New York when he was in his twenties. In 1959, he was asked by a major crime boss to go to Las Vegas, Nevada to find out if a card dealer was cheating. Ed did figure out that the dealer was cheating, so the crime boss got him a job learning the Western card games at the Fremont during the day and being a pit boss at the Sands at night. He worked at the Sands until 1967 and then at various other casinos until approximately 1981.
Person
Wike, Jimmy, 1948-
Jimmy Wike's family moved to Las Vegas in 1958 when he was nine years old. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Jimmy started as a dealer at the Las Vegas Club and was also a dealer at the Fremont Hotel and Casino, at the Stardust, and at the MGM Grand that later became Bally's. He was a supervisor at Bally's and also taught in a dealers' school while he worked there, he became a pit manager, and ended up a vice president. Jimmy also worked in management at the Hilton and at Casesars Palace.
Person
Esau, Valda, 1937-
A native Australian, Valda Boyne Esau moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s to become a professional dancer. She starred in the Lido de Paris show, which debuted at the Stardust Hotel and Casino in 1958 and was one of the most popular nightlife attractions in Las Vegas in the late 1950s and 1960s. Valda Boyne Esau danced in the first and third editions of the famed production as well as the first Cést Magnifique, a Las Vegas-inspired rendition of the Parisian show.
Person