After helping President Kennedy get elected in 1960, Governor Grant Sawyer was taken aback when he learned from Nevada Attorney General Roger Foley that US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy/FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover planned to conduct raids on Vegas casinos looking for Mob connections. Sawyer also wanted to rid the state of Mob influence, but didn’t want to break the law with such a lacking-of-probably-cause dragnet. After serving two terms, Sawyer went on to be a founding partner with Las Vegas law firm Lionel Sawyer Collins.

The Lockheed booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the early 1960s. The rep holds a camera which allows a video transmission onto the adjoining black and white television.

Sending a postcard of your home is unusual, but Cary James, Liberace’s last lover, sent this post card to Anna Nateece, as he was being evicted from Liberace’s Palm Spring’s home. Cary most likely contracted HIV from Liberace, and Liberace wanted to support Cary after Liberace died in 1987. According to Anna, The Liberace Foundation’s trustee was changed just prior to Liberace’s death, and didn’t honor Liberace’s wishes to take care of Cary long term. Anna stayed very close to Terry until his death in 1996. Courtesy of Anna Nateece.

Designer Michael Travis (extreme left), designer Anna Nateece, Cary James (Liberace’s lover), Liberace (seated, and informally dressed, after returning from the dentist), and Terry Clarkston (Liberace’s chauffeur and protege), circa 1985, inside the Dunes Hotel. Courtesy of Anna/Michael Nateece.

Indy sprint cars raced on the Joe W. Brown dirt track where the International Hotel (later Hilton and now the LVH) was built in the 60s. The same track also served as Las Vegas Park for horse racing, but the sport never met the town’s (or project financier’s) expectations. Courtesy of Bo Boisvert

This is the front of Fashion Show Mall on February 15, 1981 (one day after its grand opening). If these people were walking here today, they’d be under the 479′ x 160′ Cloud canopy and projection screen. The Sands can be seen in the background. Courtesy of
Frank Valeri

Who’s cooler than these two? Bridget Bardot and Gunter Sachs, shortly after marrying here on July 14, 1966. Courtesy of Bo Boisvert

Jackie Gaughan passed away today at 93 year of age. His leadership helped form our town. Mid-career, he, Sam Boyd, Frank Scott, and Howard Cannon built the Union Plaza at the location of the Union Pacific Railway Station in 1971, the epicenter of Vegas at the time. Thanks Jackie! Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collectoins

Anthony Spilotro, nicknamed The Ant, was an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit here in Las Vegas during the 70s and 80s. He and his crew were responsible for monitoring ‘the skim’ for the Outfit and other Midwestern Mob investors. In 1976, Spilotro and his brother formed “The Hole in the Wall Gang”, which was named so because they would drill holes in the walls and ceilings of the places they robbed to gain access. This and other nefarious activity ran him afoul with both the law, and more importantly, with top Mob management, which resulted in his death in January 1986. Here he is seen with his attorney, Oscar Goodman, who would go on to become Mayor of Las Vegas in 1999. Courtesy of UNLV Special Collections/North Las Vegas Library

Bruno Bernard (aka Bernard of Hollywood) shoots twins on a sled on Mt. Charleston. Bernard had a doctorate in philosophy from Keil University in Berlin, but fled there in 1937 since his name as on a Nazi hit list for being the secretary of a Jewish youth organization. Once stateside, his skills in photography increased after he worked with pinup artist Alberto Vargas. Bernard adopted the same artistic techniques, only to photos. He fought obscenity charges for his work which often bordered in soft pornography. He had a local office here in Las Vegas and took thousands of celebrity shots here over the years. Courtesy of Frank Valeri