Casino pioneer Irving George “Jack Davis has died at 92.
Davis was named president of Resorts International in the 1960s and headed the company as it opened the Paradise Island Hotel and Casino—later renamed Atlantis—in the Bahamas. The casino grew into the largest tourist destination in the Bahamas.
He also helped spearhead the New Jersey referendum to allow casino gaming in Atlantic City and Resorts was the first to open a casino there in 1978. It was the first U.S., casino outside of Nevada and the first opened by a publicly traded company.
Davis was also credited with persuading other casino companies at the time to consider and invest in the seaside gaming resort. Those included Caesars, Bally’s and the Golden Nugget.
Later, in 1987, Davis secured a deal with now President Donald Trump to buy a controlling interest in Resorts and left the company. The deal continued Trump’s controversial tenure in Atlantic City in which he sold Resorts to entertainer Merv Griffin, but retained control of the former Trump Taj Mahal casino, then being constructed by Resorts. When the casino faltered on its opening in 1990—briefly being closed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission—Trump hired Davis as president of the casino, who then turned the property around.
Davis later left the Taj and founded Capital Gaming, which developed a riverboat casino in New Orleans. He also worked with several Native American tribal groups that opened successful casinos.
According to his obituary in the New York Times, Davis born in White Plains, NY on February 18th, 1925. He attended Trinity High School before serving as a navy pilot during WWII. He then attended Williams College and Harvard Business School.
Davis was married to Brigitte Schulz in 1962 until her death in 1972. Together they had two sons, Mark and Gregory, who survive him. He later married Caroline (Kimmel) in 1983 and for a third time to Petra Davis from 2006 to 2010.
