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Jerome D. Mack was born on November 6, 1920 in Albion, Michigan.[1] His father, Nate Mack, was a haberdasher and later a banker.[1] His mother was Jenny Solomon.[1] He moved to Las Vegas with his parents in 1929, when he was nine years old.[2]
Mack attended Boulder City Grammar School and graduated from the Las Vegas High School in 1938.[2] He then graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.[1][2] He served as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II.[1]
Career[edit]
Mack started his career at the Bank of Las Vegas in 1954, working alongside his father.[2] Indeed, in January 1954, his father had co-founder the bank with Walter E. Cosgriff, Bob Kaltenborn, Jake Von Tobel, Bruce Beckley, and Herb Jones, the brother of Cliff Jones.[3][4] It was the first bank to lend money to casinos in Las Vegas.[5] Its first loan was to Milton Prell, who used it to build the Sahara Casino.[5] Fifteen years later, in 1969, the bank merged with the Valley Bank of Reno, a bank established by E. Parry Thomas, originally based in Reno.[2] By then, Mack had replaced his father at the helm of the bank and it had changed its name to the Valley Bank of Nevada.[4][6] Their bank was acquired by Bank of America for about US$380.5 million in 1992.[3][5]
Mack served as Vice President of the Continental Connector Corporation, Vice Chairman of the United Tanker Group, and President of First Bancorporation (later known as the Nevada National Bank, which went on to merge with Wells Fargo).[1] He also served on the Board of Directors of the Pioneer Title and Insurance Corporation.[1] He served on the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce for two terms.[1]
Mack was the President of the Riviera Casino as well as Director of the Four Queens and Dunes hotel-casinos.[1][2] He started developing the McCarran Center in 1991.[1][2] Located South of the McCarran International Airport and spanning 100 acres (40 ha) of land, it includes offices, a hotel and several restaurants.[1][2]
Politics[edit]
Mack served as Finance Chair of the Nevada Democratic Party in the 1960s.[7] He then served on the Democratic National Finance Council and the Democratic Party National Committee.[1] From 1958 to 1980, he was state coordinator and treasurer for Howard Cannon, a Democratic member of the United States Senate.[1] In 1964, he served as the Nevada Finance Chairman for Lyndon Johnson's bid for President.[1] Four years later, in 1968, he was state coordinator for Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign.[1]
Mack was appointed to the Nevada Tax Commission by Governor Mike O'Callaghan in 1972.[1] By 1975, he became its Chairman.[1] Later in the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as a member of the nominating commission for U.S. Circuit Judges for the 9th Circuit Court.[1]
With E. Parry Thomas, Mack lobbied state legislator Bill Harrah as well as former Governors Grant Sawyer and Paul Laxalt to pass a law legalizing the corporate ownership of casinos.[7] According to Mack's daughter Karen, this put an end to corruption in Las Vegas, as it enforced more regulations and disclosures for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[7]