Meet a Pillar of the Vegas Gambling Community in “Paul S. Endy Jr.: Las Vegas Gaming Legend”
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This is the story of Las Vegas, everything from U.S. presidents hooked on poker to how to manufacture marked cards and crooked dice.
Author Eric Endy had a front-row seat to much of that history and documents it vividly and thoroughly through the story of his father in Paul S. Endy Jr., Las Vegas Casino Gaming Legend.
Paul Endy, a 1997 inductee into the Nevada Gaming Hall of Fame, made a name for himself as a primary supplier to the Las Vegas gaming industry. His ascent began around the time that Howard Hughes became prominent there in the Sixties, making a concerted effort to “demob” Las Vegas and make the city safe for legitimate business. This in large part was accomplished by Hughes buying hotel after hotel until he owned close to $300 million worth of them.
“I like to think of Las Vegas in terms of a well-dressed man in a dinner jacket and a beautifully jeweled and furred female getting out of an expensive car,” said Hughes.
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As hotel ownerships changed, and as business continued to increase, the market for new cards, new chips, even new table felts grew at the same time. That’s where Paul Endy stepped in to fill that need, making a fortune and a name for himself in the process.
Paul-Son Dice & Card Co. marked Paul Endy’s entry into the legalized gaming industry in 1963 as worldwide vendor of casino supplies.
Much like the gaming industry has always faced issues of security and integrity, so too did the gaming supply business and the products used to perform its games. This naturally brought much scrutiny to operations in the business of Paul-Son.
“My father brought legitimacy to the gaming supply industry,” Eric said. “He developed new technology like microfilm in gaming chips to help prevent forgeries and the proprietary molding system that allows us to use highly detailed color graphics on chips. He had many visions for the business and the industry.”
The book could serve as the de facto history textbook for this gaming capital, tracing the development of the market, the construction of every hotel, the origin of the gaming chip (bet you didn’t know there was one) and casino dice, the colorful entertainment mainstays – like Elvis and Wayne Newton – who made their marks there, to every movie ever shot there, including some, like Casino, that used Paul Endy’s building for a scene or two.
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The author, who entered his father’s business and eventually served in a key executive role, also describes the fun of growing up in a neighborhood flooded with famous people like, in his case, Jim Nabors and Red Foxx, to say nothing of the elite access Paul’s station provided for up-close concert seats and backstage visits, notably to Eric’s favorite group at the time, the Supremes, and Dianna Ross, who kissed him on the cheek.
The book is filled with many illustrations of people, venues and products. It also provides many colorful stories, like the time in 1980 that Paul showed up at the MGM Grand with a 500 pair-dice order while the property was burning down. He insisted on getting in to meet with his “great customer,” only to be told by security that the owner had other things on his mind, with “customers jumping off the hotel tower.”
Any Las Vegas aficionado, visitor, gambler or history buff will be fascinated with the information in Paul S. Endy Jr., Las Vegas Casino Gaming Legend. From his extensive research to his personal involvement to his collection of treasured anecdotes, Eric Endy has written more than a fitting tribute to his father — a consummate and glorious chronicle of this iconic entertainment mecca. Paul’s name might not have the same recognizability as a Hughes, Wynn, Trump or major hotel brand in the annals of the business, but his contributions to this industry easily speak for themselves and provide a captivating narrative.
You can purchase Paul S. Endy Jr., Las Vegas Casino Gaming Legend here and here.
Eric P. Endy is the third and youngest son of Paul Endy. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his Master’s Degree in audiology from Cal State, Los Angeles. In addition, he received his MBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2007. Eric is married to Hsiaochin (Cathy) Endy and has three adult children: Daren, Nevin, and Celine Endy. He is proud to have worked in the gaming supply industry and to have been part of the history of fabulous Las Vegas.
