The company was founded as a gift shop in 1932 in Omaha, Nebraska by Harry Watanabe. The company expanded to 17 shops in the Midwest. During World War II, with restrictions against imports from Japan, the company shrank back to its Omaha base. Watanabe then bought a ceramic shop which made Kewpie dolls and other ceramic items.
Oriental Trading Company - Wikipedia
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The company was founded as a gift shop in 1932 in Omaha, Nebraska by Harry Watanabe. The company expanded to 17 shops in the Midwest. During World War II, with restrictions against imports from Japan, the company shrank back to its Omaha base. Watanabe then bought a ceramic shop which made Kewpie dolls and other ceramic items.
Today, Mr. Watanabe and Harrah's are fighting over another issue: whether the casino company bears some of the responsibility for his losses. In a civil suit filed in Clark County District Court last month, Mr. Watanabe, 52 years old, says casino staff routinely plied him with liquor and pain medication as part of a systematic plan to keep him gambling.
Hirokuni “Harry” Watanabe was born in Tokyo on January 5th, 1941, the second of four sons to Jiro and Chitose Watanabe, the classically trained, professional oil painters. He received his B.A. in Economics Policy from Hitotsubashi University in Japan and joined Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. in 1964.
Business Owner Blows His $127 Million Fortune, Biggest Vegas Losing Streak Ever. In 1932, Harry Watanabe founded a gift shop called the Oriental Trading Company. Today, it is a million-dollar business that ships gifts and novelties all over the world. By 1977 it was the biggest business of its type and absolutely dominated industry and that is when Terry Watanabe (pictured), son of Harry, took over the business.
Harry Watanabe had operated 17 Japanese gift shops across the U.S. before the war. Because of his Japanese ancestry, he had to sell all but his Omaha shop, could no longer deal in Japanese...
Terrance Watanabe (born 1957) is an American businessman and high roller who inherited Oriental Trading Company, a direct merchant of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys and novelties and school supplies founded by his father Harry Watanabe. Terrance was known for the large amounts of money he wagered at Las Vegas casinos.
Terrance Watanabe may well be the biggest whale in the history of Las Vegas. The Omaha business owner gambled away over $204 million in Las Vegas over the course of a single year. While his story may be one of having more money than sense some believe that he could have been the victim of a company looking to pad its bottom line.
UNPARALLELED ACCESS Watanabe has unparalleled access to law firm management with virtually every major law firm in California. Representing partners and practice groups seeking new affiliations, the firm counsels and advises partners with practice evaluation, market dynamics, competitive law firm economics, and compensation negotiation.
Greenville - Hirokuni "Harry" Watanabe was born in Tokyo on January 5th, 1941, the second of four sons to Jiro and Chitose Watanabe, the classically trained, professional oil painters. He...