Harry Wald

Harry Wald (May 19, 1924 – May 8, 1996) was a German-born American casino executive who was able to escape Germany before The Holocaust, and who was later a U.S. Army soldier in World War II. He served as the president of the Caesars Palace, a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. He subsequently served as senior vice president of MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

Early life Hans Eichenwald was born on May 19, 1924, in Rheine, Westphalia, Germany.

Before World War II, Wald escaped to the United States thanks to the United Jewish Charities in 1938, as he was just 13.

His sister Hanna was on the last Kindertransport boat from Holland to England in 1940. Hanna spent the remainder of the war in England, and later emigrated to the United States.

Wald was raised by Walter Litt and his wife, Regina, in Detroit, Michigan. Meanwhile, he brought car races, like the Grand Prix, and he negotiated a broadcasting contract with NBC despite not being lucrative to Caesars Palace. He also brought tennis tournaments to the city.

Wald served as senior vice president of MGM Grand Hotel and Casino from 1985 to 1993.

Wald served as brigadier general in the Nevada Army National Guard from 1973 to 1978. He served as the president of the United Way of Las Vegas in 1982. He served on the board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the advisory board of the Clark County Community College. He also served on the Southern Nevada Drug Abuse Council. Additionally, he served on the executive board of the Boy Scouts of America.

Personal life and death Wald married Maryellen McPeak. Wald had a son, Kerry Lee Eichenwald, and a daughter, Allyson Wald Butto together with his first wife. They resided in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wald died on May 8, 1996, at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.