Jack Entratter

Jack Entratter
Entratter (standing)
Born	(1913-02-28)February 28, 1913 New York City
Died	March 11, 1971(1971-03-11) (aged 58) Las Vegas, Nevada
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman

Jack Entratter (February 28, 1913 – March 11, 1971), nicknamed "Mr. Entertainment", was an American business executive. He is best known for management positions at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City in the 1940s and early 1950s, and at the iconic Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from the early 1950s. He is closely associated with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack in the history of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Entratter began working in the French Casino in Miami, Florida as a reservation clerk as a teenager. He later worked as a bouncer at the Stork Club in New York City in the 1930s. In 1940, he was appointed as an assistant to Jules Podell at the Copacabana nightclub, and was later general manager of the club. By 1949, he had a controlling interest in the nightclub, and he was still at the club in July 1952.

Entratter became general manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas when it opened in December 1952. At the time, it was the most luxurious hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and among the world's best hotels. Entratter made many show business friends during his time as a manager at the Copacabana, where he gained renown for his smoothness in dealing with its performers and patrons. He was able to use these connections to sign performers for the Copa Room at the Sands, a nightclub that he built especially for Sinatra. Entratter offered entertainers an additional incentive to perform at the Sands. Headlining stars received "points", or a percentage of ownership in the hotel and casino. Entratter's personally selected "Copa Girls" wore $12,000 worth of costumes on the hotel's opening night (equivalent to $108,000 in 2016). This surpassed the salary of the Copa Room's star, Danny Thomas.