Joseph E. Dini, Jr. (March 28, 1929 – April 10, 2014) was a Nevada state assemblyman,

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

owner, from

Yerington, Nevada Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census. It is the current county seat of Lyon County, with the first county seat having been established at Dayton on November 29, 1861. It is nam ...

. In 1996 Dini was ranked the tenth most influential Nevadan in a survey conducted by the ''

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 ...

'', a list that included

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

, Bill Raggio, then Governor Bob Miller and former Governor

Mike O'Callaghan Donal Neil "Mike" O'Callaghan (September 10, 1929 March 5, 2004) was an American politician and educator who served as the 23rd Governor of Nevada from 1971 to 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Early life Born in La Crosse, Wisc ...

Political career

Dini was elected to the state assembly, (which includes Lyon County, Storey Countey and parts of

Carson City Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...

) in 1967 and served until 2001 in four special sessions and eighteen regular sessions, making him the longest serving assemblyman in Nevada history. He served as the

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

for eight sessions at various times between 1977 and 1999, the most sessions in Nevada Assembly history.. At one point later in his political career he considered running for Governor of the State of Nevada, but did not. Dini also served as Majority Floor Leader in 1975. He was added to the Assembly Wall of Distinction (established by the Assembly of the Legislature of the State of Nevada to recognize members who have served with great distinction and made exemplary contributions to the State of Nevada) in recognition of his many years of service in the State Assembly and as Speaker of the Assembly. He died at a hospital in Reno, Nevada on April 10, 2014.

Dini's Lucky Club

In 1960 Joe Dini, Jr. purchased Dini's Lucky Club (then one of two casinos in Yerington, Nevada) from his father Giuseppe "Joe" Dini, Sr., who had opened the now self-proclaimed "oldest family owned casino in Nevada" in 1933 under the name the Wooden Shoe Club. The casino has been owned by his sons George and Jay since 2007 with Joe Dini Jr. formerly sitting as "chairman

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dini, Joe 1929 births 2014 deaths People from Yerington, Nevada University of Nevada, Reno alumni Businesspeople from Nevada Businesspeople in the casino industry Deaths from diabetes Speakers of the Nevada Assembly Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly 20th-century American businesspeople