Father of gaming exec Baldwin dies

Thursday, April 5, 2001 | 10:06 a.m.

Kenneth C. Baldwin Sr., a successful Oklahoma real estate executive and the father of professional gambler and gaming executive Bobby Baldwin, died Monday at Willow Creek Memory Care Center in Las Vegas. He was 87.

The family said the cause was Alzheimer's disease. The Baldwin family is a longtime supporter of the local Alzheimer's chapter.

"Kenneth was kind and fun-loving," Richard Blut, president of the Alzheimer's Association Southern Nevada Chapter, said in a written statement Wednesday. "We appreciate the time and effort he (Bobby) gives to help us research and learn more about the disease that claimed the life of his father."

Bobby Baldwin, the 1978 World Series of Poker champion and president and chief executive officer of Mirage Resorts Inc., a subsidiary of MGM MIRAGE, was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

Services for Baldwin, who moved to Las Vegas six months ago to be close to his daughter, Karen Wilson, and Bobby, will be private and will be conducted next week in Tulsa, Okla.

Baldwin was born Jan. 25, 1914, in Portland, Ore., the fifth of 14 children of William and Alice Baldwin.

Baldwin served as an aircraft engineer technician for the 8th Army Air Force in England during World War II, rising in rank to master sergeant in charge of his unit. He was decorated with the Bronze Star.

Baldwin returned to Oklahoma after the war, married the former Geneva "June" Cartwright in 1947 and became a prominent real estate broker. He was past president of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors.

In addition to his two children in Las Vegas and his wife of 54 years, Kenneth Baldwin is survived by two other sons, Kenneth Baldwin Jr., and William Baldwin, both of Tulsa. He was preceded in death by a son, John Baldwin.

The family said donations can be made in Kenneth Baldwin's memory to the Alzheimer's Association Southern Nevada Chapter, 5190 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 101, Las Vegas NV 89118.