Samuel A. Boyd (April 23, 1910 – January 15, 1993) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, casino manager and developer. He was noted for introducing successful marketing, gambling and entertainment innovations into the casino gambling industry, as well as building one of the largest and most successful casino empires in the world.

Background

Born in

Enid, Oklahoma Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, a ...

, Boyd began his career in the gambling industry in 1928, when he ran

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

games on a

gambling ship A gambling ship is a sea vessel of any kind on which gambling takes place. Historically, international waters began just from land in many countries. Gambling ships, like offshore radio stations, would usually be anchored just outside the th ...

offshore

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Just prior to the US entering World War II in 1941, Boyd moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Boyd was able to quickly make his way up through the gambling industry by initially working as a

croupier A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos. Origin of the word Originally a "croupier" meant ...

. He later went on to hold a variety of jobs in the industry, moving between

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

and

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

before moving back to Las Vegas. Having saved up a substantial amount of cash, in 1952 Boyd invested $10,000 to become an owner-partner at the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. Later, he became general manager and partner at The Mint in

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 St ...

, where he began introducing marketing campaigns and the innovations which made him famous. Boyd later began developing and purchasing casinos throughout the Las Vegas area, continuing to introduce innovative marketing. He was credited with helping build a large Hawaiian community in Las Vegas, through his marketing techniques catered toward visitors from the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

. With the construction and completion of Boyd's

California Hotel and Casino The California Hotel and Casino (also known as The Cal) opened in 1975 at a cost of $10 million with a hotel and casino located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada near the Fremont Street Experience. When it opened it had 325 rooms which has since bee ...

in 1975, he and his son co-founded

Boyd Gaming Boyd Gaming Corporation is an American gaming and hospitality company based in Paradise, Nevada. The company continues to be run by founder Sam Boyd's family under the management of Sam's son, Bill Boyd (born 1931), who currently serves as the ...

, which would become one of the largest gambling and casino management corporations in the world. Several hotel-casinos branded

Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, commonly shortened to Sam's Town, is a casino brand owned by Boyd Gaming, named after its founder, Sam Boyd (1910–1993). Five properties have carried the Sam's Town name; three remain owned and operated by Bo ...

, along with

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

Sam Boyd Stadium Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the hot ...

, are named in his honor. Boyd married Mary Neumann in 1931. They had their only child, William S. Boyd, within a year. Sam Boyd died on January 15, 1993, at the age of 82 at a local hospital in Las Vegas after lengthy illnesses. He was interred at the Palm Memorial Park in Las Vegas.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Sam 1910 births 1993 deaths American billionaires American casino industry businesspeople Businesspeople from Enid, Oklahoma People from the Las Vegas Valley Sam Boyd Stadium 20th-century American businesspeople