The Hidden History of the Battle That Remade Las Vegas
In 1969, Nelson Conway Sr. opened the door to public corporate investment in Las Vegas gaming. That move changed the balance of power and drove organized crime out of the desert forever.
This is the true story of that fight.
Told by someone who grew up in Las Vegas during the golden age of Mob-controlled gambling, this book reveals a side of the city rarely seen in gangster histories. It follows Nelson Conway Sr., a certified public accountant and local businessman, as he and his partners worked to build the Showboat Hotel and Casino free from Mob influence.
Part memoir and part true crime history, this book brings forward the voices of the Las Vegans who lived through the Mob’s arrival and had to decide whether to adapt, resist, or be pushed aside. It also uncovers the author’s personal search to understand who his father really was.
This is the untold story of the local men who fought for the future of Las Vegas.
About Author Nelson Conway
Nelson Conway was born and raised in Las Vegas where his father was a prominent accountant and investor in the Las Vegas gambling industry. Nelson has a fascination with the Las Vegas of his youth and his father’s experience in the Las Vegas business and gambling community in the 1950s and 1960s.
