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Chef and longtime gaming executive Joseph “Joe” Wilcock was born in Detroit and raised by his mother, Ruby, and stepfather, Ross Johnson, in Sarasota, Florida; Gary, Indiana; and Harlan, Kentucky. After he graduated from high school in Gary he moved to Chicago to attend Washburne Culinary Institute. While attending Washburne Joe worked at Chicago’s Drake Hotel and lived at the Sears YMCA. After earning his certificate from Washburne, Joe worked at the newly opened Holiday Inn in Chicago, the Sea View hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida, and a resort at Blowing Rock, North Carolina. At Blowing Rock he heard about the new School of Hotel Management at UNLV and in August 1969 23-year-old Joe headed for Las Vegas with $400 in his pocket. Las Vegas was a disappointment. Joe could not get a job as a chef without first joining Culinary Workers Union Local 226-which he could not afford to do. Also, because he ran a poker game and cooked at the Chuck Wagon Diner during high school his high school grade point average was roughly a C-, which hindered his admittance into the School of Hotel Management. Undaunted, Joe found a job bussing tables at the Frontier Hotel and joined the Culinary Union so he could work as a chef. He also took three classes at UNLV that semester, earned an A in each, and was admitted to the School of Hotel Management. While at UNLV he affiliated with Sigma Chi fraternity. In his career Joe has worked in all facets of the gaming industry in such Las Vegas properties as the Flamingo Capri, the Frontier, Caesars Palace, the Tropicana, the Dunes, the Golden Nugget, the Mirage, Treasure Island, the Sands, MGM, and the Downtown Grand. He learned the business from the ground up. He also worked at Caesars Tahoe and at different times owned and operated a sandwich shop and a bar. Joe married his wife, Linda, 38 years ago in Las Vegas, in 1976. He is currently employed as a casino shift manager at the Downtown Grand hotel and is affiliated with the House Corporation of Sigma Chi Alumni, UNLV Rebel Golf, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada.

Daytime views of the Maxim Hotel and Casino signs. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 160 E Flamingo Rd
Sign owner: Premier Interval Resorts
Sign details: The Maxim is located just east of the Bourbon Street, in close proximity to Bally's Hotel Casino. The Maxim is no longer operating, and is fenced off from further inspection. The signage that is seen entails building signs, the original pylon, and the porte cochere
Sign condition: Structure 2 Surface 2
Sign form: Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère
Sign-specific description: Building: The tower itself contains the logo and giant text spelling the name of the establishment, on one side of the building. The tower is mirrored and reflective, thus matching the porte cochere and pylon, and reserves to collect its building signage to one end of the tower. The tower, which runs east/west, and faces north/south contains the signs on the east end structure. On the north and south faces of the building, giant red channel letters run vertically along the block surface. The letters look to be lined on the interior of the letters with neon. The logo can be seen on the east face. Pylon: The pylon sign is essentially a giant vertical monolith of a rectangle, divided into several different sub-shapes. The center of the monolith is occupied by cabinets which fill in most of the shape, with a small gap bordering the cabinet. The cabinets are treated the same as the square arch, and flush with the surface. The cabinets are very subtle and create an illusion of one solid object. The entire outer arch shape and interior cabinets are bordered with polished aluminum. The interiors surface of the arch are covered in polished gold aluminum panels. The lining of the incandescent bulbs on the sign is interesting. On the arch the incandescent bulbs are on the interior return width of the aluminum borders. With this configuration, the bulbs sit parallel to the surface instead of perpendicular. The main marquee text is aligned horizontally across the top in gold channel letters with red plastic faces. The letters blend with the gold surface nicely. The interior cabinets are internally lit with plastic faces. There are two cabinets, the larger of the two, occupying the upper part the interior space of the monolith. Incandescent bulbs line the exteriors of the cabinets, sitting back on a recessed edge. Porte Cochere: The porte cochere is unique, opting to rise high above the surface of the pavement. The prismatic design crafted in polished aluminum, interlocks into a pattern suitable to the space which it resides. The recesses in which the decoration resides are separated by a small width of structure. This pattern of giant recesses, matched with the prismatic design in each negative space create a hulking environment high above the head in proud stature. Along the peak edge of the pieces of the prism, rods protrude every foot or so, creating a row of arms holding incandescent spheres.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics; Paint
Sign animation: chasing, flashing
Sign environment: The Maxim is now closed, and stands in marked contrast to its neighbors a bit to the east--the famous "Four Corners" of Flamingo and the Strip, and next to the trendy Meridian at Hughes Center apartment complex.
Sign designer: Maxim letter design: Kenneth Young, Porte Cochere; Lighting: Jack Dubois Pylon sign: Marnell Corrao
Sign - date of installation: 1977
Sign - thematic influences: The influence of the Maxim hotel was 70's Vegas design refined to simple geometric forms and curved linear logo's. The pylon was completely sheathed in polished aluminum, as well as the underside of the porte cochere being polished gold aluminum. The use of the popular 70's material is used extensively throughout the design. Letters hung over the main entrance, as well as signage on three sides of the building. Other examples of the material can be seen elsewhere but not as extensively. The only property that comes close is the pylon for usage of the material is the Westward Ho.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Flashing; Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère; Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Plastic; Graphics; Paint