After his business partner died, Smith bought out the heirs and became sole owner of what would eventually become the State Line Hotel and Casino.Īccording to local folklore, it was Smith who introduced the concept of round-the-clock business hours to Wendover. ![]() Soon a café and tourist cabins were added, followed by a bar and finally slot machines. With money saved up from a menial job at a nearby salt mine, Smith became part owner of a gas station and garage. He was named after William (“Bill”) Smith, an underemployed drifter who came to town on a freight train in the mid-1920s and saw potential where most travelers saw nothing but rocks and a vast saline prehistoric lakebed. ![]() Until recently Will stood sentry in front of the State Line Casino, one finger pointing down at the stripe across the road that separates Utah from Nevada. ![]() In West Wendover, Nevada, it’s a 64-foot-tall sheet-metal cowboy named Will, who waves and winks at passersby from atop a pedestal planted on a safety island in the middle of Old Highway 40. Almost every community has its monument, be it a historic building, a field gun in the park, or a bronze statue in the city square.
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