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Transcript of interview with Roger Thomas by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White, August 31, 2016

Date
2016-08-31
Description

As he reveals in this oral history, Roger Thomas is, among many other things, a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a student, an artist, a visionary, and a philanthropist. As the second son of Peggy and E. Parry Thomas’s five children, Roger was raised a Mormon child of privilege and civic responsibility. The banking family summered in Newport Beach, wintered in Sun Valley, and taught their children by words and deeds that it is not up for debate if you will be involved in your community; the only question is how you will apply your talents and resources to benefit your community. Roger absorbed the lessons well. As a child who struggled in school but excelled in art, he attended his last two years of high school at Interlochen Arts Academy, graduating in 1969, finally finding himself “in an environment where what I did had currency.” From there he earned his BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Studio Degree from Tufts University before returning to Las Vegas and eventually joining Steve Wynn’s team in 1981. As Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design & Development, he is the man in whom Steve Wynn places his trust to make real at each Wynn property the Wynn design philosophy: aim for a constituency of highly sophisticated, well-traveled, very educated people and give them a reality, a now, that is so fetching, so alluring they wish to be no place else. As he was mentored by his father and Steve Wynn, he too is mentoring those who will follow him. At Wynn, the next generation will carry forward the Wynn idea of evoca-texture, of creating “moments of experiential emotion that result in a memory so captivating and so unique that if you want to repeat that you have to come back.” At home, he collaborates with his daughter on a children’s book that has the potential to become a series; she is the illustrator, while he provides the words. Roger Thomas sat for this interview five days after his father, E. Parry Thomas, passed away in Idaho. Instead of postponing the interview to a more convenient time, Roger kept the appointment and explained, “This is for UNLV. If I’d cancelled my father would have killed me.”

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Photograph of power generators at Hoover Dam, circa 1935

Date
1935
Description
An image of workers completing construction on the generators and interior of Hoover Dam. Boulder Dam was officially renamed Hoover Dam in 1947.

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Photograph of El Rancho showroom, Las Vegas (Nev.), circa 1960

Date
1959 to 1961
Description
Interior view of showroom/dining room at El Rancho. Site Name: El Rancho Hotel (Las Vegas, Nev.)

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Photograph of a penstock pipe in an adit, Hoover Dam, 1930s

Date
1930 to 1939
Description
A section of a penstock pipe arrives at the mouth of an adit leading to the interior of one of the diversion tunnels during the construction of Hoover Dam.

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Doorway within Rod Lee Bigelow Health Sciences building: photographic print

Date
1991 (year approximate) to 1992 (year approximate)
Description
Interior photograph showing double doors within the Rod Lee Bigelow Health Sciences (BHS) building during construction.

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Le Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco: postcard

Date
1940 (year approximate) to 1990 (year approximate)
Description
From Harvey's Hotel and Casino Postcard Collection (PH-00367). Two photos on the postcard depict the interior and exterior of the casino.

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Hotel Last Frontier Brochure, image 001 of 002: photographic print

Date
1940 (year approximate) to 1981 (year approximate)
Description
Brochure advertising Hotel Last Frontier. Several photographs show different views of the interior and exterior of Hotel Last Frontier.

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