Ed Koch

Stories

Retiree rubbed elbows with Sinatra, 'the boys' in the mob: Friday, Jan. 20, 2012; When Italian immigrant Emilio Muscelli came to Las Vegas to work as a showroom maitre d’ 60 years ago, he had no idea he was giving himself one of the best seats in the house to watch the meteoric growth of the tiny desert city.
Former prize fighter boxed in: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010; During Las Vegas boxing’s heyday in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Willie “The Cannon” Shannon, a tall, lanky, good-looking heavyweight hopeful, swaggered onto the scene and made a splash. Shannon fit the bill of the boxer in the “Rocky” films of that era — the down-and-outer who sought redemption through his fighting and eventually won the love of the public while regaining his self-respect and self-worth.
Former county DA George Foley Sr. made Nevada ‘a better place’: Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010; While his father and four brothers practiced law in Southern Nevada, George Foley Sr. shunned the family business for a somewhat lucrative career as a Las Vegas bellhop.
'Walking Through Walls': A local recalls her triumph over mental illness: Monday, Sept. 20, 2010; Over the course of many years and many false hopes, Two Lenz has found her way to recovery and telling the world in her autobiography.
Modeling pioneer thrived as teacher, entrepreneur: Friday, July 9, 2010; When retired fashion model Bernie Lenz went to Southern Nevada’s public junior and senior high schools in the 1960s and ’70s and spoke to girls about possible careers in the fashion industry, drumming up business for her modeling school was not her only goal.
Sun publisher, family matriarch Barbara Greenspun dies at 88: Tuesday, June 1, 2010; In 1950, when Hank Greenspun purchased the fledgling newspaper he would turn into the daily Las Vegas Sun, his wife, Barbara, was more than just a little bit concerned with his decision and his timing. “I said, ‘Oh no, not a newspaper — not with all that we have on our plate,’ ” she recalled 50 years later. “He put $1,000 down to buy it, and we didn’t have $1,000 back then. We didn’t have any money.”
Brash huckster and visionary builder Bob Stupak dies at 67: Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009; Bob Stupak was the ultimate Las Vegas gambler and huckster, always pushing the envelope if it would bring him publicity. Always the independent, he was more aggravating than charming, but always a topic of conversation, which pleased him. He died Friday after a long battle with leukemia.
Bob Stupak, builder of Stratosphere and Vegas World, dies at 67: Friday, Sept. 25, 2009; Bob Stupak, a Las Vegas legend who developed the Stratosphere and called himself the Polish Maverick, died today at Desert Springs Hospital after a long illness. He was 67. After an unconventional boyhood in Pittsburgh he came to Las Vegas, where he survived a motorcycle crash and sparred with gaming regulators. In his early days, Stupak delved into pop music and motorcycle drag racing before he began selling coupon books.
Doctor’s influence reaches into many Vegas hospitals: Tuesday, May 19, 2009; When Dr. Joseph Rojas arrived at Nellis Air Force Base, his plan was to return with his family to his native Louisiana to start a private obstetrics and gynecology practice when his hitch was up.
Gaming trailblazer had ‘big Texas heart’: Thursday, May 14, 2009; Throughout her storied gaming career, which began when she was a 15-year-old waitress in a Texas gambling house owned by legendary casino boss Benny Binion, Claudine Williams had the golden touch.