Longtime LV Hilton PR director Banke dies at 64

Monday, Dec. 11, 2000 | 11:47 a.m.

Bruce Banke had a love-hate relationship with his longtime profession -- public relations director in the Las Vegas hotel industry.

"Working for the hotel was a job I loved to hate," Banke said in a December 1997 Sun story. "I still think that the worst invention of all time was the beeper -- mine would go off day and night.

"(But the job) was never boring. I worked with Elvis, Cosby, Streisand and many more. Those are perks that don't come with too many jobs."

Bruce Banke, who served as director of the Las Vegas Hilton's public relations department for a quarter of a century and was Elvis Presley's publicist when the late king of rock 'n' roll was in town, died Saturday at University Medical Center following a battle with a liver ailment. He was 64.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of more than 30 years and former Las Vegas Sun sports editor are noon Wednesday at Palm Mortuary Eastern.

"Bruce was an excellent writer and was perfectly suited for the role of resort publicist because he was a tremendously hard worker," said Jim Seagrave, who worked with Banke at the Flamingo in the late 1960s and now is vice president of marketing for the Stardust.

"He had an engaging personality and made instant friendships. He had a great number of media contacts all over the world. As a result, in the 1970s Bruce played a major role in the growth of Las Vegas.

"The Hilton had some of the biggest promotions and he would contact the major columnists and drum up a lot of positive publicity," Seagrave said.

Nicholas Naff, who was advertising director and Banke's boss at the Hilton, said Banke had a great gift of gab.

"He was outgoing -- more typical of a public relations man than me -- and he could talk with the entertainers and really cozy up to them," said Naff, who is the longtime publisher of "Today in Las Vegas" magazine. "It was a great skill that made Bruce a real engaging fellow. He was very devoted to his profession."

Banke credited his longevity in a business known for great turnover to choosing his words carefully when speaking to the media about high-profile people and incidents. Still, he admitted, that did not always work.

"You have to be careful, and even when you're careful, you sometimes get misquoted, as happened to me during Tailhook," Banke said in the 1997 interview, referring to the naval aviators convention at the Hilton that ended in a national scandal after several women claimed they were molested by naval officers.

Speculation has long been that Banke was made the scapegoat for the tremendous backlash the Hilton was subjected to from Tailhook, which possibly hastened his retirement in 1994.

Reflecting on that incident, Banke lamented how he had seen his profession change.

"Back when I was in publicity, I was on a first-name basis with all the beat writers," he said. "These days, the town has gotten so big that everybody's a number. It's definitely more corporate today."

Banke was born March 29, 1936, in Minneapolis and served in the Marine Corps.

He served as the Sun's sports editor in the mid-1960s but soon took a public relations job at the old Thunderbird -- now a vacant lot that was the El Rancho before its recent implosion. He went from there to the Sahara, Flamingo and in 1969 was made head of public relations for the new International hotel-casino, which today is the Hilton.

In addition to Presley, Banke did public relations work for Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and many other stars who performed at the resort.

After retiring, Banke worked on a book about Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, with Parker's widow Loanne.

Although frail from his illness, Banke got out of his sick bed on Oct. 22 to attend the fourth annual Las Vegas Oldtimers Dinner at the Stardust.

"It was the highlight of the event as well-wishers gathered around his table throughout the night," Seagrave said. "He loved the attention his friends showed. It was impossible for people not to like Bruce."

Banke is survived by a son, Bryan Banke, and a daughter, Dyan Cocchi, both of Las Vegas, as well as a brother, Robert Banke of Seattle, his mother, Norma Thomas of Sweet Home, Ore., and one grandchild.