Fourteen chapters by noted writers, researchers and scholars focus on people who were/are instrumental in the explosive growth of Nevada. The history of gaming in the state is traced by looking at the people who had the vision to see a tiny railroad town in the middle of a desert as a resort destination. Includes Maude Frazier, educator and lawmaker; Moe Dalitz; controversial founder of the modern Las Vegas; James McMillan, who championed the drive for equality; William F. Harrah; Hank Greenspun, publisher; Alan Bible, gaming regulator; Robert Laxalt, Grant Sawyer, Molly Flagg Knudtsen, Paul Laxalt, Steve Wynn, William Raggio, Sue Wagner and Jerry Tarkanian. 304 pgs, paperback, 1998