John Sydney Quiroga

Born ~ June 6, 1929 Entered Into Rest ~ April 30, 2015

John was born in Los Angeles, CA, a child of the depression. To earn a living, his parents were entertainers in vaudeville and traveled the US and Europe with a family act. During that difficult time John was raised by his grandparents in Fort Worth, TX.

His family returned to Los Angeles when his parents retired from life on the road. John continued his education at Pasadena City College and then moved on to San Jose State College where he graduated with a degree in journalism. A phone call from one of his professors lead him to a job as Sports Editor of the Las Vegas Review Journal, the largest newspaper in Nevada. For ten years his column appeared five days every week. He covered it all - the Olympic Games, the World Series, auto racing and horse racing, fishing, boxing, golf and anything else thrown his way. In those ten years he was voted Nevada sportswriter of the year and best TV sportscaster of the year. The Nevada State Gaming Commission invited him to become a boxing judge and he accepted. He scored seven world title matches. On a number occasions he and Clint Eastwood watched the fights together. John served in the Navy during the Korean War on the USS Manchester and on the Admiral’s staff at Pearl Harbor. At the end of the war he returned to Las Vegas and his career. In 1960 John was offered an executive position at Del Webb’s Sahara on the famous Las Vegas Strip, and he made his leap into the casino business. In 20 years as Marketing Director he modernized client contact to build casino play. Mass marketing wasn’t his style. He believed in one-to-one direct selling through the mail. He created and for 12 years directed the Super Sahara Celebration with it’s $100,000 Shower of Money. What fun he had sitting in a bank vault crumpling $100,000 in small bills. The Celebration was the forerunner of huge casino promotions. Versions of the Shower of Money are emulated to this day, even on The Ellen Degeneres Show. John was also the Director of the Sahara Invitational, a PGA Tour tournament and celebrity pro-am. Jack Nicklaus and Chi Chi Rodriguez became personal friends and John finally learned to play the game. He could putt with the best. Sports were always an important element in John’s life. He was a distance runner in high school and college, became a Nevada state champ in handball, and then returned to marathon running. In most of those races he finished in well under 3 hours. He ran Boston in 1973. The Colorado Rockies and the Denver Broncos were his teams to cheer.

In 1975 John invented table game gambling in tournament format. He wrote most of the rules, including the rotating marker dealers use to begin each hand. In 1979 he became co-founder and principal owner in International Gaming Promotions, Inc. John’s concept drew 14,000 players to the Sahara, and within a few years these new tournaments had spread to hundreds of US casinos. In 1980 John left the Sahara and began his own company. He developed direct marketing campaigns for the top casinos, such as Harrah’s, the Flamingo, Caesars and Resorts International. The Direct Marketing Association in New York recognized his work with three Echo Awards (two Gold, one silver). In 1984 John wrote his first book, Casino Marketing. He followed with Secrets of Casino Marketing in 1998. Both were best sellers in a vertical market. Writing was an enduring passion, a wordsmith, indeed. In 2004 John received the first Casino Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award at Casino Marketing, the National Conference. At that time the Conference created the Romero Awards for direct marketers in the gaming industry. John personally presented these awards each year. In 2012 John wrote Las Vegas, The Untold Stories and he followed it in 2013 with his first novel, The Eisenhower Enigma. A new manuscript has just been completed for a second novel. John is survived by his wife Robin, their son Troy of Gilbert, AZ and daughter-in-law Michelle, and grandchildren Kylie and Lucas. He is survived by his son John of Calabasas, CA and grandsons Chris, Mike and Dan. He is survived by his son Dana of Bullhead City, NV and granddaughter Sydney. He is also survived by his two cousins, Melinda Akard and her husband Tom of Oviedo, FL, and Judy George along with her husband Richard of Woodland Hills, CA. And John is remembered by the myriad friends and enduring friendships he enjoyed throughout his life. John’s life was filled with so many people and events beyond the norm - personal triumphs, unimagined adventures, creativity unbound, dreams fulfilled, so much laughter. And love that surrounds him in Heaven as it always walked with him here on this earth. We hold you in our hearts.

Interment with military funeral honors will take place at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Children’s Diabetes Foundation at Denver and Fisher House Foundation. Thank you.