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Interviewed by Joanne L. Goodwin. Bernice Smith was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 27, 1934. She married Ivan Jaeger in 1955. He and his family were involved in the underground gaming industry in the Midwest. When it shut down in 1961, they moved to Las Vegas where Ivan worked first as a dealer and later in various executive gaming positions. Bernice was one of the fist students to attend Clark County Community College (later Community College of Southern Nevada) when it was founded in 1971. She earned a liberal arts degree in 1973 and a degree in hotel administration in 1974. Bernice worked as the secretary of Inez Rambeau, the director of convention sales at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. After a few years, she became the assistant of the hotel director at the Riviera. Later Bernice was the personal secretary to the owner and general manager of the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. She left that position in 1984, completed a bachelor's degree in the field of women's studies, and started Flex-Time, a temporary employment agency catering to working women. Then she was hired by Ira levy, the new owner of the Continental Hotel and Casino to be his assistant general manager. In 2003 Bernice earned a master's degree in counseling at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and she now works for Legal Rehabilitation Services, leading court-mandated group counseling for people in domestic violence situations