Nate Mack

Nate Mack
BornJanuary 27, 1891
Mielec, Poland
Died1965 (aged 73–74)
OccupationBanker
SpouseJenny Solomon
ChildrenJerome D. Mack
RelativesKaren Mack (granddaughter)

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 family[1] on January 27, 1891, in Mielec, Poland.[2][3] He had two brothers, Harry and Louis.[3] 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.[3]

Career

Mack was the owner of a supermarket in Los Angeles, California in the 1920s.[2][3] By 1929, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he opened a haberdashery.[2][3] He moved to Reno in 1936, followed by Boulder City, only to return to Las Vegas.[3] 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 bar."[2]

Mack got into the gambling industry by installing jukeboxes from Rock-Ola and slot machines from Jennings & Company in bars throughout central and southern Nevada,[2] including Beatty, Manhattan, Pioche, Round Mountain and Tonopah.[3] Mack took home half the profits.[3] Subsequently, Mack invested in land and casinos with businessmen Sanford Adler, Gus Greenbaum, Charlie Resnick, Art Rosen and Moe Sedway.[2][4]

Mack was responsible for the establishment of the Las Vegas Sun, the main newspaper in Las Vegas, when he loaned US$1,000 to its founder Hank Greenspun in 1950.[2][5]

Mack co-founded the Bank of Las Vegas with his son and other investors in 1954.[2][4][6] Mack served as its chairman while Walter E. Cosgriff was its president until he was succeeded by E. Parry Thomas in 1961.[6] The bank focused on loaning money to casinos in Las Vegas.[2]

Mack became "one of the most influential citizens of Las Vegas".[3]

Judaism

With his wife, Mack co-founded "Sons and Daughters of Israel" in Las Vegas, which is the oldest Jewish congregation in Nevada.[2] He served as its second president from 1945 to 1949.[2] The congregation later became known as Temple Beth Sholom.[2][7]

Mack served as the president of the Jewish Community Center of Las Vegas.[4] He was also the Nevada chairman of the United Jewish Appeal.[2]

Personal life

Mack married Jenny Solomon.[2] They had a son, Jerome D. Mack.[2]

An elementary school in Henderson, Nevada 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.[2]

References

  1. ^ Marschall, John P. (February 1, 2008). Jews in Nevada: A History. University of Nevada Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780874177374.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Nate Mack". Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. UNLV University Libraries. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Marschall, John P. (2008). Jews in Nevada: A History. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. pp. 165–166. ISBN 9780874177480. OCLC 226379130.
  4. ^ a b c Balboni, Alan Richard; Edwards, Jerome E. (2006). Beyond the Mafia: Italian Americans and the Development of Las Vegas. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780874172430. OCLC 33967396.
  5. ^ Davies, Richard O. (1999). The Maverick Spirit: Building the New Nevada. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780874173277. OCLC 38993023. nate mack las vegas.
  6. ^ a b Moehring, Eugene P.; Green, Michael S. (2005). Las Vegas: A Centennial History. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780874176155. OCLC 56058071.
  7. ^ "History". Temple Beth Sholom. Retrieved February 29, 2016.