Newton Crumley, Jr., is known as the innovator who brought big name entertainment to Nevada long before he wielded power at the state legislature. Born in 1911, Crumley was the son of a hotelier of the same name who owned hotels in Goldfield, Jarbidge, and Elko. The younger Newton also entered the hotel business in Elko at the Commercial Hotel and the Ranch Inn.

Crumley is often credited with being the first to bring well-known performers to Nevada, hiring popular stars such as bandleader Ted Lewis and singer Sophie Tucker to appear at the Commercial in the early 1940s. Casino owners in Las Vegas and Reno followed Crumley's lead, and Nevada soon became famous for its top flight entertainment as well as legalized gambling.

With his interest in politics, Crumley was an alternate Nevada delegate to the 1952 Republican National Convention. He served a term in the Nevada senate from 1955 to 1958, where he became known as a powerbroker.

Crumley moved to Reno in the mid-1950s and took over the Holiday Hotel. In 1960, he was elected to the University of Nevada Board of Regents. He died in a plane crash on February 11, 1962.