Sam Boyd

Who was Sam Boyd?

Samuel A. "Sam" Boyd was an American businessman and casino manager and developer. Boyd is noted for introducing successful marketing, gaming, and entertainment innovations into the casino gaming industry, as well as building one of the largest and most successful casino empires in the world.

Born in Enid, Oklahoma, Boyd began his career in the gaming industry in 1928, when he ran bingo games on a gambling ship offshore Long Beach, California. Just prior to the United States entering World War II in 1941, Boyd moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with only $30 on hand. Sam Boyd was able to quickly make his way up through the gaming industry by initially working as a dealer. He later went on to hold a variety of jobs in the industry, moving between Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe, California before moving back to Las Vegas.

Having saved up a substantial amount of cash, in 1952 Boyd invested $10,000 to become an owner-partner at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Later, he then moved on to become general manager and partner at The Mint in Downtown Las Vegas, where he began introducing successful marketing campaigns and the innovations which made him famous.