Abstract
The Bob Stupak Professional Papers (approximately 1900 to 2007) primarily documents the career of Las Vegas, Nevada casino owner, Bob Stupak. The materials in the collection include the planning of two resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada created by Bob Stupak: Vegas World and the Stratosphere. The collection also includes planning materials for the Titanic Las Vegas, an unbuilt resort envisioned by Stupak. Planning and promotional materials for Stupak's resorts including photographs, memorabilia, audiovisual materials, advertising mockups, and architectural drawings. The collection includes several scrapbooks and photographs of Stupak and his wife Sandy at events around Las Vegas. The materials also document Stupak's political campaigns running for mayor of Las Vegas in 1983 and 1987 and lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2006.
Finding Aid PDF
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Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Bob Stupak Professional Papers (approximately 1900 to 2007) primarily documents the career of Las Vegas, Nevada casino owner, Bob Stupak. The materials in the collection include the planning of two resorts in Las Vegas created by Bob Stupak: Vegas World and the Stratosphere. The collection also includes planning materials for the Titanic Las Vegas, an unbuilt resort envisioned by Stupak. Planning and promotional materials for Stupak's resorts including photographs, memorabilia, audiovisual materials, advertising mock-ups, and architectural drawings. The collection includes several scrapbooks and photographs of Stupak and his wife Sandy at various events around Las Vegas. The collection also includes materials documenting Stupak's career beyond the casino industry, including storyboards and drafts of his screenplay
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Arrangements must be made in advance to access digital files; please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for additional information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are organized into two series:
Series I. Professional papers, approximately 1900-2007;
Series II. Personal papers, 1942-2006.
Biographical / Historical Note
Bob Stupak (1942-2009) was a casino owner who built two major resorts in Las Vegas, Nevada: Bob Stupak's Vegas World and the Stratosphere. Stupak first opened the Million Dollar Historic Gambling Museum & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973. When the museum burned down, Stupak decided to build Bob Stupak's Vegas World in 1974, a space-themed casino. Vegas World closed in 1994, and the remaining buildings and property location where used to create his next venture: the Stratosphere. The Stratosphere, built in 1994, is a 1,149 foot building that is the tallest building in the state of Nevada and the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. In 1999, he began planning for a new Titanic-themed resort, but the plan was ultimately not approved by the Las Vegas City Council.
Stupak also participated in local politics. He ran two campaigns for mayor of Las Vegas in 1983 and 1987, as well as a campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2006. Stupak died from leukemia in 2009 at the age of 67.
Sources:
Koch, Ed and Mary Manning, "Bob Stupak, builder of Stratosphere and Vegas World, dies at 67,"
Stutz, Howard, "The World according to Stupak,"
Preferred Citation
Bob Stupak Professional Papers, approximately 1900-2007. MS-01016. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2020 by Nevada Stupak; accession number 2020-015.
Processing Note
In 2020, Tammi Kim reboxed materials, foldered loose items, and wrote the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. In 2021, Sarah Jones processed the collection, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.