Donald Joseph Laughlin (born May 4, 1931) is an American gambling entrepreneur, hotelier and rancher for whom the town of Laughlin, Nevada, is named. A native of Owatonna, Minnesota, Laughlin worked winters during his youth as a fur trapper. He took the profits and used them to purchase slot machines for installation in hunting lodges. The young businessman was making $500 a week when his school principal gave him an ultimatum: get out of slots or get out of school. Since he was making more than three times what the principal was, he got out of school.