The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 32

4 ZtiZnztltiZimts 1 i. 41 49th ANN Bucilla needlepoint for hand-crafted excitement Save now on needlepoint designs and recover your favorite stool or bench. Choose from a large selection of casual or forma! center designs worked in wool on a bast canvas. Many sizes are available. 1.59J3.99 reg.

2.30-21.00 notions 1, art needlework 40 all 18 stores Rae Bixler, a representative from Bucilla, will demonstrate needlepoint in the following Downtown LA, June Wilshire, June Laurel Plaza, June So. Coast June West June Topanga June 12; Oxnard, June 13 DEAN OF CLUB OWNERS J. Kell Houssels, chairman of the board of the Los Vegas Tropicona since 1958, is "Mr. Las Vegas" to residents of th "biggest resort on earth." He came there in 1930. Tlmejphols 'WHAT A WILD Mr.

Las Vegas: He Spotted Action Early BY CHARLES HILLINGER Timet Staff Writer set of three rayon satin hangers These softly padded hangers of gleaming rayon satin protect your fine clothes and also add a touch of elegance. By Selwell. handy see-through plastic shoe boxes Pandora's handy shoe box- es have pull-out drawers that interlock. They won't tilt or tip. Clear plastic.

By J. W.Scott. 5.99 6.99 reg. 7.00 reg. 9.00 .1 I I I I.

I.J LI .1,11,1. 1 I II Wl A 'X Hi'1 rxVv M1 men's slack rack, holds 8 prs. slacks Get organized! SetvvellV slack holder puts 8 pairs of pants in one place. Stands on floor for easy access. In walnut finish.

Save today! sturdy underbed metal storage chest Now even small apartments can have a storage place. Compact gold-tone metal underbed chest has carrying handle, 5.99 9.99 reg. 13.00 reg. 13.00 LAS VEGAS Nobody wanted to deal. So the young Army pilot took the deck, started ihuffling the cards.

That's how it all began with J. Kell Houssels, probably the most successful gambler ever to hit town. They call Houssels, Avho will be 77 in July "Mr: Las Vegas." No one else has been as closely associated with the gambling industry here. He is one of the last of the originals in Las Vegas the dean of the big club owners. Houssels has been chairman of the board of the Tropicana since 1958.

Was Army Flier "I was an Army aviator in World War flying Curtis Jennies at Mather Field," said the Silver-haired multimillionaire. "We'd sit around at night, play a little blackjack but nobody wanted to deal. They kept passing the deck around. "So I tried my luck dealing. Pretty soon I was dealing every night.

I learned right away the dealer got the best of it." The Armistice came along and Houssels, a native of Vernon, returned to Colorado School of Mines, where he completed his studies for a mining engineer's degree. "I was making $125 a month at a mine in Ely when I heard one of the local clubs was looking for a 21 dealer. Paid Twice as Much "Being a dealer paid twice the money I was getting at the mine. That ended my mining career." Hoover Dam was under construction in 1930. Las Vegas was the nearest town.

Its population swelled to 4,000 because of the big federal project. "Hell, I knew there had to be action down there," said Houssels. The blackjack dealer, his wife, Alice, and their year-old son packed their belongings and moved to the sleepy little town that in time would become the gaming capital of the United States. "There were two or three small clubs in Vegas then," Houssels continued, "just poker and "I had hit a lucky streak in Ely. Had $6,000 in my pockets when I landed in Vegas.

"I bought a third interest in one of the -clubs. What the hell did they call that place then? the Smoke Housethat's it. "It was as much a pool hall as a card house, the kind of a place that didn't have to have a bankroll behind the operation. They took my $6,000 and remodeled the; joint. We renamed it the Las Vegas Club." The club flourished, as did Houssels.

Las Vegas had a few, slot machines in the '30s, "but they were locked up so tight, payoffs were so poor, nobody played them." els introduced racehorse keno to the town. He started a taxi service, Lucky Cab and launched the local bus line. He ran a feed concession for racehorses at a county fair in Phoenix one year In the early '30s. Owners of several horses ran up big hay bills then skipped out. "I fell heir to a bunch of cheap racehorses," he said, then rocked back in his chair with a booming laugh.

That was Houssels' beginning as one of the nation's leading owners and breeders of thoroughbred racehorses and his start as a major Las Vegas property owner: He trucked the horses back to Southern Nevada and looked for a place to graze them. Grass and Water "There was green grass and artesian wells on the South edge of town the Miller Ranch. "I stopped by and asked Miller if I could rent pasture for my horses. He said he wasn't interested in renting his place. I turned, walked off and he called after me, saying he'd sell the ranch if I wanted to buy it.

"Said I could have all 440 acres for $13,500 with no i terest, $125 a month payments. Hell, I figured I would have to pay him at least $150-a-month rent." He parlayed the handful of old nags into one of the finest stables in the land. During the last 35 years, Houssels thoroughbreds have won more than $4 million in purses. Sold for $500,000 What happened to the ranch he bought for Houssels sold off the last 110 acres 10 years ago for $500,000. "Everyone knows the story of what happened in Vega he continued.

"From sleepy little rail town to biggest resort on earth. "It sure surprised the hell out of us chickens that were scratchin' around in the early years "I can remember being put upon to buy up government tax land back in the '40s. I wanted to know what the hell I would do with a lot of worthless sagebrush and cactus. "Hell, it was miles out of town then. Now, it's like downtown.

"Just for the hell of it, I bought 2,000 acres at $2 an acre. "I later sold that same property at $4,000 an acre 2.00Q times the price I paid for it." Houssels has owned a piece of the Showboat and the El Cortez. When the bank was Please Turn to Pg. 3, Col. 7 ftJ HUM' 1" 4iV ft i )f trttWtfirlf1lfrf-TTinr ilMMiMiiaiwifirtMfrtftf.iifti?iTimT" minrnnmlftiin J.

disposable dress shield or spray-on Kleinert's sprays on men's or women's clothes to protect them from perspiration stains, odors. 1.69 dress shields 1.39 Kleinert's washable sanitary brief Stretch nylon lace brief is machine-washable and Sanitized In small, medium or large. Others reg. 1.79-3.95 1.59-3.49 Vrii 4 1.29 1.59 reg. 1.6 9 reg.

1.79 1 Shop daily 10 a.m. to Sunday, noon to 5 (except Downtown L.A. as noted below) M0NDAY THR SATURDAY 10:00 A.M. TO 9:30 P.M. EXCEPT DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES MONDAY 10 00 A TO 9 00 TIIFSDAY THRII SATiiRnAY in nn a th Vj CRENSHAW: MONDAY TO SATURDAY 10:00 A.M.T0 9:30 nM.

OXNARD: MONDAY THRU 10 A J. TO pX SHoV MAVCO ..1.