[This is the second of a three-part series exploring Phish's past excursions in Las Vegas, courtesy of user @paulj Paul Jakus, Executive Director of the Phish Studies Association.]

“[Las Vegas] was first financed by crime syndicates from back East, then a Mormon-run local bank, [and later] underwritten by Wall Street” – William L. Fox, Driving by Memory

Growth of the Las Vegas tourism industry in the mid-20^th century was constrained by its restricted access to investment capital, and stained by its ongoing association with organized crime. Bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome “Jerry” Mack (T&M), namesakes of the Thomas & Mack Center, were instrumental in managing Las Vegas’s transformation from outlaw ownership to corporate cash cow.

Operating through their Valley Bank, T&M’s collective fingerprints remain evident in every part of today’s Las Vegas. Investing valley-wide in commercial and real estate ventures, and politically advocating for critical water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure, the bankers were also key figures in the founding and expansion of what was to become the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In the 1950s the only option for higher education in Las Vegas was a small extension of the University of Nevada’s main Reno campus, with night classes meeting at a local high school. Foreseeing future growth and, Nevada Southern College was established in the mid-1950s (later renamed as Nevada Southern University), with Jerry Mack appointed to its first Board of Regents

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