Sarann Knight-Preddy
| Sarann Knight-Preddy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 22, 1920 Eufaula, Oklahoma |
| Died | December 22, 2014 (aged 94) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Occupation | business leader and gaming pioneer |
Sarann Knight-Preddy (July 27, 1920 - December 22, 2014) was an American business leader and gaming pioneer in the U.S. state of Nevada. In 1950, she became the "first and only woman of color to receive a gaming license" in the state.
Born in Eufaula, Oklahoma to mixed-race parents, Preddy married just out of high school and moved with her family to Las Vegas. At the time she arrived there were few work opportunities for blacks, but Preddy learned to write keno and deal blackjack. Following her second husband to Hawthorne, Nevada, where he worked at the ammunition depot, Preddy had the opportunity to purchase a bar. She bought it and licensed it, becoming the first woman of color to have a gaming license.
After seven years, Preddy returned to Las Vegas and worked in various "after hours" clubs in West Las Vegas, until a city ordinance was passed which banned black dealers. She tried her hand at running a dry cleaning business and a dress shop, but sold them to buy the Playhouse Lounge. Preddy was approached by the NAACP to try to break the color line against dealers. When she was unable to secure a gaming license for her own club, she agreed to a six-month trial at Jerry's Nugget and ended up staying seven years. Preddy left Jerry's to run for a seat on the Las Vegas City Council and was the first black to win a primary. But in the final contest, she lost the seat by seventy-two votes. She returned to the gaming business, buying and operating the People's Choice Casino. She was heavily involved in trying to revitalize West Vegas, which had declined after desegregation. She operated a non-profit and tried to attract investors. She, her husband and son worked to get the historic Moulin Rouge Hotel listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They succeeded, bought the hotel and reopened it for business, but a fire destroyed the interior in 2003 and a second one 2009 destroyed the structure.
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