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Mary Laub and husband William “Bill” Laub first came to Las Vegas in 1954, eventually establishing permanent residency with their five children four years later. Bill’s work with his family’s business, Southwest Gas Corporation, brought the Laub’s to the city from their lifetime home of California. Unable to find a home adequate for their large family, the Laubs ordered a home, which was shipped to Las Vegas and built on their lot in Rancho Circle. Mary’s “claim to fame” is founding the Las Vegas Assistance League chapter in 1976, serving her community through this organization for decades after. Her concern for the viability of Assistance League led her to start a thrift store to finance organizational operations, as well as solicit donations from entities like the Reynolds Foundation and Andre Agassi Foundation. To this day, the Assistance League continues many of the programs Mary started, including providing clothing to local children and the thrift store. Mary still lives in the family’s Rancho Circle home, in a community to which her and her husband dedicated themselves. In addition to his successful career with Southwest Gas, Bill was appointed by then Governor Laxalt as chairman of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, and he also served as a Republican National Committeeman for over a decade. Mary’s work with the Assistance League was so meaningful that it established an annual Mary Laub award for other enduring volunteers. She also served on the local library board of trustees, and was involved with the Junior League for many years.

Steve Keener was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey and received his bachelor’s degree in finance at Stockton University. With a background in electronics from his service in the military, Keener started in the gaming industry as a slot technician at Tropicana Atlantic City in 1981 where he worked on and conducted preventative maintenance on some of the early stepper slot machines. He would eventually promote to the positions of lead technician and slot technical manager before moving to Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Delaware in 1997 where he is now assistant vice president of casino operations. The interview with Steve Keener begins with his discussion of his background in the slot positions at both properties. Keener also discusses dealing with customers, what customers are looking for in casinos, and which qualities make good and bad slot managers. He later discusses what makes a good slot floor, particularly when considering denomination and type of slot machine, and he also describes the process of working with vendors to get those machines onto the floor. Keener later discusses the biggest changes in the gaming industry, specifically the expansion of video over stepper, server-based gaming, and the increase in riverboat gaming. He also mentions the role of free play in slots and provides his opinion on what he believes the future of slots will look like with skill-based and 3D gaming being introduced into slot machines. The interview concludes with Keener’s answer to the question of whether he gambles, and he provides his advice to young people who want to get into slot operations as a career.