El Rancho Hotel And Casino
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El Rancho Hotel And Casino
The El Rancho Hotel and Casino (formerly known as the Thunderbird and Silver Bird) was a hotel and casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It originally opened on September 2, 1948, as the Navajo-themed Thunderbird. At the time, it was owned by building developer Marion Hicks and Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Clifford A. Jones. A sister property, the Algiers Hotel, was opened south of the Thuderbird in 1953. During the mid-1950s, the state carried out an investigation to determine whether underworld Mafia figures held hidden interests in the resort. Hicks and Jones ultimately prevailed and kept their gaming licenses. Hicks died in 1961, and his position as managing director was taken over by Joe Wells, another partner in the resort. Wells added a horse racing track known as Thunderbird Downs, located behind the resort. The Thunderbird also hosted numerous entertainers and shows, including ''Flower Drum Song'' and '' South Pacific''. Business at the res ...
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Winchester, Nevada
Winchester is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States that contains part of the Las Vegas Strip. It is one of a number of CDPs in the unincorporated urbanized area directly south of Las Vegas. The population was 36,403 at the 2020 census. It is governed by the Clark County Commission with advice from the Winchester Town Advisory Board. "Winchester, NV" does not appear in postal addresses; the United States Postal Service has assigned "Las Vegas, NV" as the place name for the ZIP codes containing Winchester. History The southern part of the Las Vegas Valley was referred to as Paradise Valley as early as 1910, owing to a high water table that made the land particularly fertile for farming. County commissioners established a Paradise school district in 1914. In 1950, mayor Ernie Cragin of Las Vegas sought to annex the Las Vegas Strip, which was unincorporated territory, in order to expand the city's tax base to fund his am ...
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El Rancho Vegas
El Rancho Vegas was a hotel and casino at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It opened in 1941, as the first resort on the Strip, known then as part of Highway 91. It was located at what is now the southwest corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. The El Rancho Vegas was conceived by Thomas Hull, who owned several hotels in California and wanted to expand his operations to Las Vegas. He decided to build his new resort along Highway 91, on desert land located just outside of city limits. Hull intended to target motorists traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, although his remote location was met with skepticism. The El Rancho Vegas was designed by Wayne McAllister, and originally included 65 rooms, located in cottage bungalows spread across the hotel's property. The El Rancho opened on April 3, 1941, with an Old West theme. It proved to be a success, which prompted the opening of other resorts on Highway 91, eventually transforming it into the La ...
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Southern Nevada
Southern Nevada (SNV) is a region and the southern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. It also includes the areas in and around Pahrump and Pioche. Tonopah and Hawthorne are sometimes also referred to as part of Southern Nevada, but all organizations based in the Las Vegas area, such as the Southern Nevada Health District, effectively limit the term to the Las Vegas Valley. Geographically, parts of Southern Nevada are within the Mojave Desert. The population of the region, as measured by the 2000 U.S. Census, is 1,432,004, though the Las Vegas Valley has now increased to over 2,000,000 itself. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Southern Nevada have been increasing in frequency and severity, putting a further strain on Las Vegas's and Southern Nevada’s water security. Economy The primary drivers of the Southern Nevada economy have been the confluence of tourism, gaming and conventions which in turn feed the retail and di ...
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Hank Greenspun
Herman Milton "Hank" Greenspun (August 27, 1909 – July 23, 1989) was the publisher of the ''Las Vegas Sun'' newspaper. He purchased the ''Sun'' in 1949, and served as its editor and publisher until his death. Greenspun was also a prominent real estate developer in the Las Vegas Valley. Early years Greenspun was born into a American Jews, Jewish family in Brooklyn, the son of immigrants from Congress Poland, Russian Congress Poland. During World War II, while stationed in Northern Ireland, Greenspun met his wife, Barbara, at a dinner party hosted by Maureen Black (née Peres) daughter of Harold Peres of Solomon and Peres and wife of British Businessman, Roy Keith Black. As a young man, Greenspun became closely involved with Bugsy Siegel, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and the work he was doing to reopen his Flamingo Las Vegas, Flamingo casino. Greenspun worked as the Flamingos's publicity agent. Following the murder of Siegel in Los Angeles in 1947, Greenspun renewed his interest ...
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Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate in the United States. A member of the Jewish mob, Lansky developed a gambling empire that stretched around the world. He was said to own points (percentages) in casinos in Las Vegas, Cuba, The Bahamas and London. Lansky additionally had a strong influence with the Italian-American Mafia and played a large role in the consolidation of the criminal underworld. The full extent of this role has been the subject of some debate, as Lansky himself denied many of the accusations against him. Despite nearly 50 years as a member/participant in organized crime, Lansky was never found guilty of anything more serious than illegal gambling. He has a legacy of being one of the most financially successful gangsters in American hi ...
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Las Vegas Sun
The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now included as a section inside the pages of the morning ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' but continues operating exclusively on its own website. Its publisher and president is Brian Greenspun, former publisher Hank Greenspun's son, who was a college roommate of President of the United States, President Bill Clinton. It has been described as "politically liberal." History The ''Las Vegas Sun'' was first published on May 21, 1950, by Hank Greenspun, who served as its editor until his death. Hank acquired the ''Las Vegas Free Press'' and two weeks later renamed it to the ''Las Vegas Sun''. He started the ''Las Vegas Sun'' after he received a US$1,000-loan from businessman Nate Mack. From its founding the paper was pu ...
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Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The largest cities by metropolitan area are Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson. Prior to 1848, in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as well as parts of Alta California and Coahuila y Tejas, settlement was almost non-existent outside of Nuevo México's Pueblos and Spanish or Mexican municipalities. Much of the area had been a part of New Spain and Mexico until the United States acquired the area through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the smaller Gadsden Purchase in 1854. While the region's boundaries are not officially defined, there have been attempts to do so. One such definition is from the Mojave Desert in California in the west (117° west longitude) t ...
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Thunderbird (mythology)
The thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength. It is especially important, and frequently depicted, in the art, songs and oral histories of many Pacific Northwest Coast cultures, but is also found in various forms among some peoples of the American Southwest, East Coast of the United States, Great Lakes, and Great Plains. In modern times it has achieved notoriety as a purported cryptid, similar to creatures such as Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster. General description The thunderbird is said to create thunder by flapping its wings (Algonquian), and lightning by flashing its eyes (Algonquian, Iroquois). Algonquian The thunderbird myth and motif is prevalent among Algonquian peoples in the "Northeast", i.e., Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and eastward) and Northeastern United States, and the Iroquois peoples (surrounding the Great Lakes). The dis ...
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Las Vegas Valley
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 with Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, Nevada. The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a Depression (geology), basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada: Las Vegas, Henderson, Nevada, Henderson and North Las Vegas, Nevada, North Las Vegas. Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada. The names Las Vegas and Vegas are interchangeably used to indicate the Valley, Las Vegas Strip, the Strip, and the city, and as a brand by the Las Vegas Co ...
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Highway 91
The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil * SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia Highway 91A * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 91 China * G91 Expressway Iran * Road 91 Israel * Highway 91 (Israel) Italy * Autostrada A91 Greece *Greek National Road 91 Korea, South * National Route 91 United States * Interstate 91 * U.S. Route 91 * Alabama State Route 91 * Arkansas Highway 91 * California State Route 91 * Colorado State Highway 91 * Florida State Road 91 (unsigned designation for Florida's Turnpike) * Georgia State Route 91 ** Georgia State Route 91W (former) * Illinois Route 91 * Iowa Highway 91 * Kentucky Route 91 * Louisiana Highway 91 ** Louisiana State Route 91 (former) * Maine State Route 91 * Maryland Route 91 ** Maryland Route 91A (former) * M-91 (Michigan highway) * Minnesota State Highway 91 ** Coun ...
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Dawn Wells
Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesley Wells in Reno, Nevada, where she attended Reno High School. Her father owned a local Reno construction company called "Wells Cargo" (not to be confused with the trailer manufacturer). After high school graduation, Wells attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she majored in chemistry. She transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated in 1960 with a degree in theater arts and design. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. Career In 1959, Wells was crowned Miss Nevada and represented her state in the Miss America 1960 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In Hollywood, Wells made her debut on ABC's '' The Roaring 20s'' and the movie ''The New Interns'' and was cast in episodes of such t ...
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Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the Strip. As the urban core of the Las Vegas Valley, it features a variety of hotel and business highrises, cultural centers, historical buildings and government institutions, as well as residential and retail developments. Downtown is located in the center of the Las Vegas Valley and just north of the Las Vegas Strip, centered on Fremont Street, the Fremont Street Experience and Fremont East. The city defines the area as bounded by I-15 on the west, Washington Avenue on the north, Maryland Parkway on the east and Sahara Avenue on the south. History Before incorporation Perhaps the earliest visitors to the Las Vegas area were nomadic Paleo-Indians, who traveled to the area 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Anasazi and Paiute tr ...
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