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Full-Text Articles in History

The Promise Of Gangster Glamour: Sinatra, Vegas, And Alluring, Ethnicized, Excess, Laura Cook Kenna Aug 2010

The Promise Of Gangster Glamour: Sinatra, Vegas, And Alluring, Ethnicized, Excess, Laura Cook Kenna

Occasional Papers

Las Vegas has been linked with Frank Sinatra since the 1950s. The highly‐publicized performances of the Rat Pack (consisting of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford) at the Sands crystallized the image of Las Vegas as a place that mingled economic mobility with excess. This excess was often associated with ethnicity and frequently linked to crime. It was, however, the excess that made Las Vegas and Sinatra glamorous to many audiences.


Multiform Segregation In The Context Of The Urban Crises In Las Vegas And Los Angeles, 1930 - 1980, Colin M. Fitzgerald Aug 2010

Multiform Segregation In The Context Of The Urban Crises In Las Vegas And Los Angeles, 1930 - 1980, Colin M. Fitzgerald

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Multiform segregation in the context of the urban crises was a complex socio-historical phenomenon. The primary focus of this study addresses racial segregation in at least three basic societal areas: housing, employment, and education. Through the spatial separation of multiple ethnoracial groups such as African Americans and Mexican Americans, multiform segregation precipitated the urban crises. In the 50-year period this study covers, Las Vegas and Los Angeles sustained a two-tiered class system according to the prevailing racial attitudes of each city's business elite. As a resort city, Las Vegas could not endure ethnoracial tensions while Los Angeles' industrial base provided …


The Powerful Mythology Surrounding Bugsy Siegel, Larry Gragg Ph.D. Mar 2010

The Powerful Mythology Surrounding Bugsy Siegel, Larry Gragg Ph.D.

Occasional Papers

Journalists, authors, filmmakers, and historians have been interested in Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel for over six decades. Collectively, they have crafted a cohesive mythological narrative of Siegel’s life one focused upon “rags to riches” success and his contributions to the development of Las Vegas, Nevada. Most attribute to Siegel the inspiration for not only the Flamingo Hotel‐Casino, but also for the glamorous, classy, flashy resort city Las Vegas became after World War II. This paper describes the development of the myth since Siegel’s murder in 1947 as well as how it has been sustained.