Claudine Williams blazed a trail for women in the gaming industry

Claudine Williams was raised in the rackets and proud of it. As a schoolgirl in Louisiana and Texas, when others her age were practicing their arithmetic, she was putting her skills to a practical use by dealing cards at a backroom casino. She was just 15.

Williams, who died last week at age 88, would go on to enjoy a hugely successful business career, shatter barriers for women in the male-dominated gaming industry and see her name added to Nevada's gambling and business halls of fame, and become known as a generous philanthropist and contributor to higher education in Nevada.

She did all that without losing the common touch that endeared her to friends, employees and customers alike. After breaking in, she ran an after-hours club in Houston for a while and dealt cards in a hush-hush gambling joint before catching the eye of one of Benny Binion's associates.

The fellow called Binion and said, "I've got this smart girl I want to send down to you."

"Good," Binion replied. "I've never met one of those."

Binion provided Williams the kind of education not taught in public school.

These days, she is recognized as one of the first women in Nevada to run a major casino, operating the Holiday Casino on the Strip for many years after the death of her husband, gambling pioneer Shelby Williams. In a rare husband and wife partnership, Shelby and Claudine operated the Silver Slipper until they sold it at a handsome profit to Howard Hughes in 1969.

After Shelby's death in 1977, Claudine emerged as president and general manager of the Holiday, a first in Nevada for a woman. When the Holiday was purchased by Harrah's, she remained with the corporation.

Joanne Goodwin, associate professor of history at UNLV, conducted the interview with Williams that was published in 2007: "Claudine Williams: A Life in Gaming."

"A real woman of grace and integrity is kind of what I found her to be," Goodwin said. "When I did the interviews in her office at Harrah's, there was always this great feeling of care and respect for the people she had worked with in the casino."

In her oral history, Williams explained how her formal study had been supplanted by her gambling education.

"I'd like for the young people to realize that without an education, they may be working for minimum wage the rest of their life ...," Williams said. "I would like to try to convince them how hard it is out in the world without an education. You've got to work twice as hard."

Williams was an original member of the UNLV Foundation, and a dormitory is named in her honor on the Southern Nevada campus.

She provided inspiration to a generation of women who knew her struggle and success.

Before Jan Jones became a vice president at Harrah's Entertainment, she was a success in her own right. When Jones was considering running for mayor, she turned to her friend Claudine for advice.

"Claudine is the one who told me to run for mayor," Jones recalled. "We were walking through Neiman Marcus, and we talked about my plans. She said, 'I think you should run for mayor, and I'll support you.' And she did. I could always count on Claudine."

When Jones returned to the private sector at Harrah's, she watched Williams deal with working stiffs and casino executives with uncommon understanding.

"She had a grace, tenacity, intelligence, integrity, work ethic, and a confidence in herself that didn't require her to be pushy or abrasive ...," Jones said. "And that skill enabled her to go back and communicate with her employees. They would have done anything for Claudine because she was so fiercely loyal to them. ... She was one of the most beautiful people I have ever known."

Jones made it clear that Williams was so much more than a successful gaming icon.

"When you look at this whole list of what she's done, it shows she was accomplished, but it doesn't capture how fearless she was: how willing she was to push the envelope, but do it with such a gentle touch."

After a lifetime of success, Claudine Williams remained a hardworking Louisiana girl at heart.

Her strong character and business acumen made her a one-in-a-million woman on the Boulevard.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith/.