Wilbur Clark (December 27, 1908 – August 27, 1965) was an American casino owner and land developer in
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 ...
.
Early life
Wilbur Clark was born on December 27, 1908, in
Keyesport, Illinois
Keyesport is a village in Bond and Clinton counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 406 at the 2020 census.
History
Keyesport was named in honor of its postmaster, Thomas Keyes.Allan H. Keith''Historical Stories: About Greenville an ...
.
His parents were Shirley and Lulu Clark.
Career
Clark moved to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, at age 19, and worked in a hotel.
He also worked on gambling ships, where gambling could take place in international waters.
He purchased
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 ...
in 1944.
A year later, in 1945, he purchased
Monte Carlo Club.
In 1946, he sold El Rancho Vegas.
With that money, he built the
Desert Inn
The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...
casino in 1947.
However, he quickly sold most of his interest to businessman
Moe Dalitz
Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las V ...
, owning only 17.5%.
Another business partner was
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 promine ...
, the publisher of 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 ...
'' newspaper.
He remained the public face of the Desert Inn.
In the 1950s, he organized the Tournament of Champions, an annual golf tournament at the Desert Inn Golf Course, televised by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
.
He sold his share in 1964.
During his time as head of the Desert Inn, Clark had a charity called 'Wilbur Clark's Cavalcade of Charities.' In 1964, as part of the charity, he helped organize the first ever professional football game in Las Vegas, an
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
preseason game between the then
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
and
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
.
The game helped establish a relationship between the Raiders's
Al Davis
Allen Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in ...
and Las Vegas. That relationship between the Davis family and Las Vegas was eventually a motivating factor in his son
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fi ...
relocating the team to the Las Vegas Area in 2020 as the
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...
.
Later, he developed Wilbur Clark's Paradise Gardens, located at 4505 South Maryland Parkway, south of the
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference.
History
The facility was fi ...
.
He donated the land on which
Guardian Angel Cathedral
Guardian Angel Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Winchester, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. It is just off the Las Vegas Strip, north of the Encore hotel. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. Before the establishmen ...
was built.
Personal life and demise
He married
Toni Clark
Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name.
In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni.
In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian ...
, born Lena Gaglionese, in 1944.
She became a philanthropist and fashion icon, supporting the
and
Nevada Ballet Theatre
Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) is a regional ballet company located in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the Resident Ballet Company of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts and is one of the largest performing arts organizations in the sta ...
. In 1958, she was on the Fashion Foundation of America's 10 Best Dressed Women in America list. She died in 2006.
Clark died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on August 27, 1965.
Legacy
The Wilbur Clark D.I. Road (previously known as the Desert Inn Road) in Las Vegas, Nevada, is named in his honor.
Whilst Dr. Heywood Floyd is en route to the moon in
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's film ''
2001: A Space Odyssey'' during the wait over at the orbiting wheel in space there is a sign for "Wilbur Clark's Earthlight Rooms".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Wilbur
1908 births
1965 deaths
People from Keyesport, Illinois
Businesspeople from Las Vegas
American business executives
20th-century American businesspeople