Notable Nevadans who died in 2025: The legends who shaped Las Vegas

Notable Nevadans who died in 2025 include a leading philanthropist and co-founder of Mirage Resorts; a tourism promoter who coined the term “What happens here, stays here”; several longtime casino executives; and a myth-busting Nevada historian.

Elaine Wynn

Elaine Wynn, a philanthropist, education champion and leading woman among Nevada casino executives, died after a short illness on April 14. She was 82.

Elaine Wynn’s rise to power and wealth paralleled that of her former husband, Steve Wynn. They were married twice and divorced for the second time in 2010. They co-founded Mirage Resorts in 1976 and Wynn Resorts Ltd. in 2000, bucking conventional wisdom, which said the town was overbuilt.

Forbes estimated her net worth at $1.7 billion in September 2020. At the time of her death, Forbes estimated her net worth at $1.9 billion.

Elaine Wynn was a champion of Las Vegas’ forthcoming art museum. The long-awaited project is set to take over a 1.5-acre parcel in Symphony Park, just east of The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall and Discovery Children’s Museum. Construction could start as early as 2026.

Rossi Ralenkotter

Longtime tourism promoter Rossi Ralenkotter, who led an extensive effort to turn Las Vegas into the world’s top visitor destination and coordinated the iconic “What happens here, stays here” advertising campaign, died on Oct. 10 after a 16-year battle with cancer. He was 78.

Ralenkotter became the face of tourism in Southern Nevada and one of the state’s most dynamic and powerful figures as CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, until an abrupt departure from public life under the weight of scandal over the misuse of Southwest Airlines gift cards provided to the LVCVA to help promote Las Vegas.

Ralenkotter was part of the original group of community leaders that helped persuade the National Finals Rodeo to move to Las Vegas in 1985, and he persuaded the International CES trade show and other major conventions to hold their events in Las Vegas, which propelled Las Vegas to the No. 1 trade show destination in North America for more than 25 years.

David Siegel

David Siegel, the founder and executive chairman of Westgate Resorts and owner of one of Las Vegas’ most famous hotels, died April 5. He was 89.

In his latter years, Siegel focused on the opioid crisis after the death of his daughter Victoria, who died of what was ruled an accidental overdose in 2015 at age 18. He and his wife, Jackie, founded the Victoria’s Voice Foundation and held annual fundraising events in Las Vegas starting in 2019.

Antonio “Tony” Alamo Sr.

Antonio “Tony” Alamo Sr., a Cuban refugee who climbed the gaming industry corporate ladder from a janitor at Harrah’s in Reno to a top executive of several Las Vegas properties before his 2005 retirement, died on Sept. 30. He was 84.

He eventually became president of Circus Circus, moving later to become president of the Desert Inn and president and chief operating officer of the MGM Grand. He retired in 2005 as Mandalay Resort Group’s senior vice president.

Kathleen “Neena” Laxalt

Kathleen “Neena” Laxalt, a longtime Nevada lobbyist and daughter of former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Paul Laxalt, died Jan. 3 after a battle with bladder cancer. She was 67.

Laxalt served as a lobbyist for a swath of Nevada organizations, including the dental hygienists association, the cattlemen’s association, physical therapy board and the board of psychological examiners, according to the Nevada Legislature Lobbyist Site.

Norm Clarke

Norm Clarke, the pioneering Review-Journal celebrity columnist recognized around town for his signature black eye patch and splashy scoops, died March 20 after a two-decade battle with cancer. He was 82.

After 15 years as a baseball writer, sports columnist and man-about-town columnist in Denver, Clarke began penning his celebrity-centric “Vegas Confidential” column for the Review-Journal. It appeared on Page 3A and online for 17 years.

Tamar Lubin Saposhnik

Tamar Lubin Saposhnik, a Jewish educator who founded the school that eventually became the Adelson Educational Campus, died April 8 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91.

Lubin Saposhnik, born in Jerusalem in 1934, was devoted to Judaism and a Jewish education. She and her husband, Paul Saposhnik, immigrated to the United States in 1956. She earned her doctorate in education from the University of Rochester in New York in 1979 while raising three children.

John Strzemp II

John Strzemp II, former Treasure Island president and longtime Las Vegas gaming industry financial officer, died April 15 after a lengthy illness. He was 73.

Strzemp, also a professional poker player who finished in the money in major tournaments a dozen times, was a close associate of former Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn.

George Lee

George Lee, the longtime Las Vegan whose journey from pioneering ballet dancer to a four-decade career dealing blackjack at the Four Queens was chronicled in the documentary “Ten Times Better,” died April 19. He was 90.

Lee was born in 1935 to a Chinese acrobat and a Polish ballerina living in Hong Kong. By the age of 7, Lee was a professional dancer performing in Shanghai nightclubs and being paid in rice. He arrived in America in 1951. In 1958, Gene Kelly persuaded Lee to join the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Flower Drum Song,” which the dance legend was directing. A 1961 production of the show at the Thunderbird, where the Fontainebleau now stands, first brought Lee to Las Vegas.

Michael Tell

Michael Tell, a rock ’n’ roll concert promoter who carried on his father’s legacy by taking charge of the long-running Las Vegas Israelite newspaper, died April 6 at the age of 80.

Before his career as a newsman, Tell booked entertainers who would have otherwise not stopped in Las Vegas back then — including Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Steve Miller Band. He organized a memorable concert by The Doors; the band played on plywood placed atop ice at the old Las Vegas Ice Palace.

Joseph MacDonald

Joseph MacDonald, who served at the invasion of Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa as a boatswain mate third class, was 100 when he died in St. Augustine, Florida, on March 17. He was one of the last remaining veterans of the World War II-era battleship the USS Nevada.

After the war, MacDonald served in the U.S. Border Patrol. His daughter said he was the oldest living Border Patrol agent.

Jim Denton

Jim Denton, a longtime Nevada political consultant who led campaigns across the state, died July 25. He was 71.

Denton was the political adviser and strategist for some of Nevada’s leading politicians, including former Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons and others running for city councils, the Nevada Legislature, the Nevada Supreme Court and everything in between.

Guy Rocha

Guy Rocha, a longtime Nevada archivist and historian known for his myth-busting newspaper columns and fierce advocacy for the truth, died Sept. 18. He was 73.

Rocha played an integral role in revitalizing the Nevada State Archives, leading the state agency for 28 years before retiring in February 2009.

Selma Bartlett

Selma Bartlett, a trailblazing banker and strong-willed philanthropist whose work advanced education in Southern Nevada and was integral to the development of Henderson, died Sept. 16. She was 97.

Bartlett’s community investments and business loans are credited with helping propel the rapid growth of Henderson, now the state’s second-largest city. Her influence extended across Southern Nevada. She helped found Nevada State University, the St. Rose Dominican Hospital system, Henderson’s first senior center and The Smith Center.

Betsy Rhodes

Betsy Rhodes, a prolific volunteer in Las Vegas and the namesake of a Clark County elementary school, died Oct. 4. She was 94.

Rhodes was known for her roles leading a variety of civic groups and community projects in support of children’s welfare and education. The Clark County School District named a school in Centennial Hills in her honor in 1998.

Cleto Escobedo III

Cleto Escobedo III, a longtime friend and bandleader of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, died Nov. 11. He was 59.

Escobedo and Kimmel met as children in Las Vegas, where they grew up across the street from each other. Escobedo went on to become a professional musician, specializing in the saxophone and touring with Earth, Wind and Fire’s Phillip Bailey as well as Paula Abdul. He recorded with Marc Anthony, Tom Scott and Take Six. When Kimmel got his own ABC late-night talk show in 2003, he lobbied for Escobedo to lead the house band on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Michael DeLano

Michael DeLano, a TV and movie actor-turned-Las Vegas showman, died of a heart attack on Oct. 20. He was 84.

DeLano was a lounge singer in real life, and in one of his famous roles, as Johnny Venture, opposite Valerie Harper on the CBS sitcom “Rhoda.” He was also cast in “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Ocean’s Twelve” as a casino host.

Cook E. Jarr

Cook E. Jarr, an iconic showman who lorded over the lounges of Las Vegas for decades, died Jan. 9. He was 83.

Born Anthony Pettine, Jarr was honored by the Las Vegas Walk of Stars in April 2022, after a lengthy fundraising campaign by ardent fan Mark Block. The “ceremony” amounted to the star being placed overnight, with the recipient unable to attend.

John Stuart

John Stuart, the father of impersonation productions who founded “Legends in Concert,” died Dec. 14 at the age of 82.

Stuart brought “Legends in Concert” to the Strip at the Imperial Palace in May 1983, having run a version of the show at the John Wayne Theater at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Don “Pops” Friend

Don “Pops” Friend, who played a nifty piano and sang a seemingly endless stream of classics as Las Vegas’ oldest headliner, died Dec. 21. He was 96.

Friend had been in hospice care at his Las Vegas home, suffering from effects of dementia, according to his son and veteran rock-music writer, Lonn Friend. Dubbed the Sinatra of the Senior Set in a column from August 2024, Friend had for 30 years performed at senior living centers across Southern Nevada.

Ryan Whyte Maloney

Ryan Whyte Maloney, a popular singer-songwriter who ascended to “The Voice” on NBC, died by suicide on Jan. 28. He was 44.

Maloney was an alum of the 2014 season of “The Voice.” Already a veteran performer, he was a member of Blake Shelton’s Team Blake during his run on the series, advancing after a four-chair turnaround with his rendition of Journey’s “Lights.” Maloney was eliminated before the show’s live broadcast finals but returned to perform on the season finale.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.