CLARK NV Archives Obituaries.....HICKS, Lillian  10/31/1994
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LAS VEGAS SUN
11/2/1994

GAMING PIONEER HICKS DIES AT 87

	Lillian Hicks, a gaming industry pioneer and a 60-year resident of Las Vegas, died Monday at home following a long illness.  She was 87.
	In 1935, she and her late husband, Marion Hicks, built the El Cortez Hotel, in 1947 built the Thunderbird Hotel on the Strip, now the closed El Rancho, and in 1953 opened the Algiers Hotel adjacent to the Thunderbird.
	She and her husband sold the El Cortez only a few years after they built it, but they continued to own and operate several ohter gaming and hotel properties in the city.
	After Marion Hicks died in 1961, Lillian continued overseeing business operations and was active in the Algiers until 1990, when she sold it to her daughter, [omitted]..
	Mrs. Hicks was born in Clinton, Mo., July 12, 1907, the daughter of Charles Edward Lile and Laura McKinney Lile, and she grew up in the Clinton area.
	She knew Marion Hicks in Missouri, but it wasn't until she moved to California as a young woman that they became better acquainted.  It was a Fourth of July when they drove to Las Vegas to get married.
	During the early 1980s, Marion Hicks owned a gambling boat that sailed from Long Beach and operated outside the seven-mile limit of territorial waters.
	Mrs. Hicks was very active in many local community events, and she supported several charitable causes.
	A member of Las Vegas Country Club, she was also one of the founders of the Las Vegas Service League, predecessor of the Junior League of Las Vegas, and was active in fundraising for Bishop Gorman High School.  She was also a supporter and a member of the Las Vegas Variety Club.
	"She always had a kind word for everybody," said her daughter.
	Mrs. Hicks is survived by [omitted].
	A funeral service will be conducted 11 a.m. Thursday at Palm Mortuary at 1325 N. Main St.  Entombment will be at Palm Memorial Park.
	Viewing will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Palm Mortuary on Main Street.
	The family requests that donations be made to Nathan Adelson Hospice.