#1: KENO-AM Nov 1 1940

Before there were radio stations in Las Vegas residents had to listen to the closest signal they could pick up, Los Angeles AM’s were the first choice and at night other strong signals could be heard from accross the country. That changed November 1, 1940 when Maxwell Kelch signed on Las Vegas’ first radio station, KENO-AM. He garnered support from local businesses who contributed to the “Live Wire Fund”

Las Vegas actually had a station prior to KENO’s sign on, KGIX-AM was close to downtown on Stewart near 12th street but it had gone dark. In his application to the FCC for call letters, they felt certain the “vanity” calls KENO would be denied, so their first choice was KLVN with KENO as second choice. The commission regretfully informed Kelch their first choice had been assigned to a ship at sea, so KENO it was.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal in their story “The first 100 people who shaped Southern Nevada” tells the story of the station’s beginnings KENO’s first broadcast facility was the old Meadows Club, which Laura Belle dubbed “The extinct nightclub.” It had been built in 1931 by gambler Tony “The Admiral” Cornero on the Boulder Highway at the site now occupied by Montgomery Ward. Shortly after he opened El Rancho Vegas in 1941, casino man Tommy Hull made Kelch an offer he couldn’t refuse.  “Max, if I moved your radio station, your tower, everything, to my property, would you move over there?” he asked. Kelch agreed instantly. It was free studio space in a high-visibility location. Hull got a good deal, too. Every 20 minutes or so, the announcer would identify the radio station, and note that it was “broadcasting from the grounds of the fabulous El Rancho Vegas.” Later, Kelch built a new studio on the Strip, just north of where Circus Circus would later stand.1
It’s not known if Tommy actually did move the tower from it’s location behind Montgomery Wards on East Charleston, but in the 1950’s through the 1980’s the site remained active and was home to KLAV until it was moved to Owens and I-15. Sometime in the late 50’s KENO was taken over by new management and they moved to Paradise and Flamingo road with a three-tower directional array. By the 70’s came another move to 4660 South Decatur near Tropicana.
A listing for a 1964 KENO “Good Guys” music survey on Ebay sums up these golden years: KENO was the legendary Top 40 station for Las Vegas, competing with KRAM in the 60’s and KLUC in the 70’s.

Jeff Colson on KENO-1969

This Color Channel 146 KENO Fabulous 40 survey is from 12-26-64 and has a listing of the KENO DJs (Good Guys) at the bottom; Coffee Jim Dandy, Mark Lane, Dave Ambrose, Corky Mayberry, Paul Jones & Jeff Colson. Later arrivals at “color channel 146″ were Scott Morgan, Len E. Mitchell, Don Adams, and Jimmy Walker. Colorful personalities like Sam Cougar would host the night show in the early 70s, his spots for “Cougar’s Den” were memorable. The “Wild Man” Bill Wescoe would take over the nighttime slot. Overnights were handled by Rick Phillips in the mid to late 70’s, a shift we called “Midnight to Gentry” as often it did not end at 6am, program director Scott Gentry (now the owner of KJUL) had a habit of oversleeping so Rick would sometimes hang on for an extra hour…or two. Norm Seeley was the news director.

Scott would make sleeping in a permanent thing in the late 70’s as Jefferson Stone would take over wake-up duties (Jefferson’s brother is Shadoe Stevens), Bill Alexander afternoons, and R.W. Stevens moved across the hall from the FM to do nights.
In 1948 a construction permit was granted and at 103.9 KENO had the station’s first FM signal. In later years this simply vanished, and it’s not clear what became of this station. In 1976 Lotus Broadcasting acquired 92.3 which was KVEG; initially labeled “K-92″ it was Vegas’ first album-oriented rock (AOR) station. Staff members included Steve Summers mornings, Randy Lundquist, George Thomas, Lynn Justice, Rick Diego, Steve O’neal, Gary O’Niel, Bill Bauman, Jerry Clary, and Keith Stewart.
Farther up the dial a pop-oriented KFMS-102 would flip to album rock in the late 70’s, KENO also felt pressure from KLUC which finally beat them in the ratings in 1979. Album rock was dropped for a pop-oriented format, consultants implemented more changes, and the  station struggled for an identity.  K-92 became “KENO-FM” then FM KENO 92 until 1981 when it returned to it’s rock roots with a call-letter change it retains to this day:  KOMP.  Originally they had hoped to be KMOB or “The Mob” but in those days the FCC would not allow it.

KENO-AM today retains those famous call letters and the transmitter site is diplexed with sister AM KBAD (formerly KORK) near Vegas Drive and Rancho.  The format is Spanish Sports.