I just got this in the mail today. What a nice piece of Nevada history. You won't find many things with Mert Wertheimer's name on them but he was a real founding father of gaming in Nevada. He and his brother Lou ran gambling clubs in Detroit and Florida before migrating to Nevada. In fact he was head of the Chesterfield Syndicate in Detroit before moving to Florida to operate the Royal Palms Casino. He started out in Nevada at the Nevada Club with fellow Chesterfield alumnus Lincoln Fitzgerald. In 1949 he, along with partners Baldy West and Ruby Mathis, leased the gambling operation at the Riverside. He was an early supporter of strong state controls over gaming. A quote found in Dwayne Kling's "The Rise of the Biggest Little City" says it well: "The thing I like about it here is that you don't have to pay anyone off." Mr. Wertheimer died in July 1958.

I have a lighter of the same style from the Thunderbird. My guess is that both of them date from the early 50's. You can see my other lighter's on my web pages.