Wilbur Clark was born on December 27, 1908, in Keyesport, Illinois, to parents Shirley and Lulu Clark. He received his elementary education in the Keyesport grammar school and although he began high school, he never completed his studies. When Clark reached 19 years old, he hitchhiked to San Diego to visit his father. During his trip he stopped in Las Vegas, New Mexico where a cafe owner let him wash dishes. When he left, the owner reportedly gave him a shiny silver dollar, admonishing him to keep it so that he would never be broke.

When he reached San Diego he became a bellhop at the San Diego Knickerbocker. In 1931, he became a craps dealer at the Reno Nevada Bank Club. Learning the game while being a dealer, he became one of the best craps players during that time period. In 1938, Clark opened the Green Shack. During a trip he stopped at Las Vegas, Nevada and decided that it was sorely lacking in business possibilities. Upon returning to California, he was able to work hard enough to buy several more bars in the area.

In 1939, Clark was one of the investors in Tony Cornero's gambling ship Rex. When the Rex was sold Clark moved to Vegas.

Never forgetting about Las Vegas, Clark returned in 1944, and bought the El Rancho Vegas from Thomas Hull. He then sold it in 1945. He also owned the Monte Carlo Club on Fremont Street, where he designed the first sign in Las Vegas that had flickering lights. He also had an interest in the Players Club on the Strip.

In August of 1944. Wilbur Clark married Toni Gaglionese in Reno, Nevada.

Clark used the money from the sale of the El Rancho and Monte Carlo Club to make the Players Club his sole property and shortly thereafter, demolished it to build the Desert Inn which opened in 1950.

Clark also built several apartment complexes and was the owner of a stable of top thoroughbred race horses.

Clark was known for his dedication to Las Vegas and the Strip. Wilbur and Toni Clark traveled to the four corners of the earth, and always told everyone about the Desert Inn and Las Vegas. Clark was a great ambassador to the resort city. His million-dollar smile and magnetic personality combined to make people around the world love him. He was never too busy to stop and talk with anyone. He mingled with stars of the entertainment and sports world, as well as business tycoons, mayors and governors.

Being a loyal Democratic, he was a close friend of President John Kennedy as well as Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1956 Clark suffered a stroke that slowed him down. It was then he decided to sell his remaining interest in the Desert Inn to Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman and their associates.

Clark died of a heart attack, at the age of 57, on August 27, 1965. Massive tribute was paid to this builder of dreams by local, state and national officials, as well as by those who had served him at the Desert Inn. The entire city mourned this visionary's death.

In 1997, Clark County officials renamed a stretch of the Desert Inn Super Arterial after Wilbur Clark. (Clark County was named after Montana Senator William Andrews Clark).

"We had been in Beverly Hills and had flown back to Las Vegas especially to have dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. A small dinner party was given for them in the Painted Desert Room. The dinner party consisted of the Dalitzs, the Clarks and attorney Roy Cohn from New York, the man who had arranged their stay at the Desert Inn. Afterwards, we took the Duke and Duchess sightseeing in two limousines. The Duchesss asked that I ride with her, but I declined, feeling it wouldn't be proper. It was very exciting. We then visited them at their house in Paris." - Toni Clark, Wife of Wilbur Clark

Clark is also remembered as donating land so the Guardian Angel Cathedral can be built.