Samuel W. Belford II

Samuel W. Belford II built his legal career in Reno, Nevada. A graduate of Stanford University, where he earned an undergraduate law degree in 1960 and his LLB in 1962, he was admitted to the Nevada bar that same year and went on to practice law for decades in the city. Before entering practice, he completed two years of active duty as a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve.

Belford began his career practicing alongside his father, later helping to co-found a law firm, and eventually continued in practice as a sole practitioner. Active in the legal community and in Republican politics, he is credited with drafting legislation - which he shepherded to passage - permitting and regulating casino ownership by publicly traded corporations, a measure that shaped the modern gaming industry in Nevada.

Known for a voracious love of reading and an encyclopedic knowledge of arcane subjects, Belford died on October 3 at the age of 78. He was survived by two nieces and two nephews.