Nathan Mack (1891–1965) was a Polish-born American banker. He was the co-founder of the Bank of Nevada and Temple Beth Sholom.

Early life

Nathan Mack was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family on January 27, 1891, in

Mielec Mielec ( yi, מעליץ-Melitz) is the largest city and seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland ( Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 wa ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. He had two brothers, Harry and Louis. Mack was the first member of his family to emigrate to the United States, and he was subsequently reunited with his brothers, who invested in real estate.

Career

Mack was the owner of a supermarket in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

in the 1920s. By 1929, he moved to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, where he opened a

haberdasher In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clot ...

y. He moved to

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

in 1936, followed by

Boulder City Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon. Boulder City is one of on ...

, only to return to Las Vegas. Over the years, he "sold tires and batteries, ran a towing service and wrecking yard, sold produce, and owned a clothing store, a liquor store, and a

Fremont Street Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas Valley – and Nevada – besides the Las Vegas Strip. Named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont and located in the ...

bar." Mack got into the gambling industry by installing

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

es from

Rock-Ola The Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation is an American developer and manufacturer of juke boxes and related machinery. It was founded in 1927 by Coin-Op pioneer David Cullen Rockola to manufacture slot machines, scales, and pinball machines. The f ...

and

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

s from Jennings & Company in bars throughout central and southern Nevada, including Beatty,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, Pioche, Round Mountain and Tonopah. Mack took home half the profits. Subsequently, Mack invested in land and casinos with businessmen Sanford Adler,

Gus Greenbaum Gus Greenbaum (February 26, 1893 – December 3, 1958) was an American gangster in the casino industry, best known for taking over management of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder Bugsy Siegel. Early life Gustave ...

, Charlie Resnick, Art Rosen and

Moe Sedway Moe Sedway (July 7, 1894 – January 3, 1952) was an American businessman and mobster. He was an associate of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and a faithful lieutenant of organized crime czar Meyer Lansky. He and Gus Greenbaum made the Flamingo Hotel ...

. Mack was responsible for the establishment of the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is n ...

'', the main newspaper in Las Vegas, when he loaned US$1,000 to its founder

Hank Greenspun Herman Milton "Hank" Greenspun (August 27, 1909 – July 23, 1989) was the publisher of the ''Las Vegas Sun'' newspaper. He purchased the ''Sun'' in 1949, and served as its editor and publisher until his death. Greenspun was also a promine ...

in 1950. Mack co-founded the Bank of Las Vegas with his son and other investors in 1954. Mack served as its chairman while

Walter E. Cosgriff Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

was its president until he was succeeded by

E. Parry Thomas Edward Parry Thomas (June 29, 1921 – August 26, 2016) was an American banker who helped finance the development of the casino industry of Las Vegas, Nevada. Along with his business partner, Jerome D. Mack, he is credited with building Las Vegas ...

in 1961. The bank focused on loaning money to casinos in Las Vegas. Mack became "one of the most influential citizens of Las Vegas".

Judaism

With his wife, Mack co-founded "Sons and Daughters of Israel" in Las Vegas, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in Nevada. He served as its second president from 1945 to 1949. The congregation later became known as Temple Beth Sholom. Mack served as the president of the Jewish Community Center of Las Vegas. He was also the Nevada chairman of the

United Jewish Appeal The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), ...

Personal life

Mack married Jenny Solomon. They had a son, Jerome D. Mack. An elementary school in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Va ...

opened in 1983 bearing Mack's name. His son would later get a middle school named after him in 2006.

Death

Mack died in 1965.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Nate 1891 births 1965 deaths People from Mielec Businesspeople from Las Vegas Polish emigrants to the United States American bank presidents 19th-century Polish Jews Jewish American bankers American financial company founders Jews and Judaism in Nevada American real estate businesspeople Mack family (banking) 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews