Publicity played a big part in Las Vegas’ formative years as a resort destination, and one publicist used every cornball stunt he could think of to get hotels’ showgirls global exposure.
The First 100
Shady dealings did little to dull the luster that this private man brought to the city of glitz
Despite having little authority, this tax collector had enough bluff and bluster to force the likes of Bugsy Siegel to pay his gaming fees, thus paving the way for Nevada’s control over the industry.
A developer, who did much more than just build houses, will continue to have an impact on Las Vegas well into the next millennium.
With his no-nonsense approach, former Las Vegas Mayor C.D. Baker helped bring the city’s dilapidated infrastructure out of the Depression and into the modern era.
Taking his cue from Howard Hughes, a Southern Californian found the land on the west side of Las Vegas to be a bountiful construction spot for thousands of houses.
Not willing to bet his town’s future on a roll of the dice, a county commissioner pushed and received backing for an unconventional idea amid all this gaming
With a lilting Irish brogue and a head for business, a not-so-wealthy young man found his calling in a vast wasteland.
A dentist whose mother was horsewhipped by the Ku Klux Klan found the Mississippi of the West had its own share of prejudice
A businessman, who got into politics to stop a few crooked police officers from robbing him blind, became one of the city’s more well-regarded leaders.
A civil rights supporter who brought the Black Book to Nevada casinos, the man from Elko took on the Kennedy brothers and the FBI to protect gaming in the Silver State.
A singer who worked with Count Basie and at the Moulin Rouge would not be silenced in his fight against segregation.
He began his battle against injustice in Southern Nevada in the 1960s and is still fighting against those who would deny blacks and others their inalienable rights.
A lawyer who fought for civil rights when it was not popular to do so was his own man regardless of who his influential friends might be.