Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Archives

Did You Know? Games / Races: Faro George "Tex" Rickard Goldfield Hotel (Goldfield, NV) Nevada Quick Facts The Northern (Tonopah, NV) Wyatt Earp

Quick Fact – Earp Myths

1905 Folklore has it that Wyatt Earp was the pit boss at The Northern in Goldfield, Nevada for George “Tex” Rickard, the proprietor. But it likely is false, according to Nevada historians, Jeffrey Kintop and Guy…

Allen Smiley Club Savoy (Las Vegas, NV) Games / Races: Craps It Really Happened Jack Durant Louis "Russian Louie" Strauss Norman Khoury

Dirty Dealings in Las Vegas

1949-1953 Only months after Cleveland bar owner, Norman Khoury’s 1949 acquisition of Club Savoy in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allen Smiley, an associate of the then-deceased Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, unexpectedly approached him. He introduced Khoury to…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Cuba Events: World War II Games / Races: Dog Racing Games / Races: Horse Racing It Really Happened Mexico Nevada United States

WWII: Impact on Nevada’s Gambling

1944-1945 In the final year of World War II, three related mandates hampered Nevada’s gambling clubs, but, in general, casinos willingly withstood the hits out of a sense of patriotic duty. These directives, imposed by…

Archie Sneed Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Elmer West Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm Events: World War II Frank Richardson Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Joseph Hall Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Military Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) United States

Lawsuit: You Won’t Get Away With It

1945-1946 Alfred E. Cushman entered the Palace Club, in uniform, shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 11, 1945. Prior to that, the recently discharged U.S. Army veteran participated in the Armistice Day parade in…

Beldon Katleman Casino History Gambling History Gaming History Gus Greenbaum It Really Happened Marion Hicks Nevada Paradise--Nevada United States Wilbur Clark William J. Moore Winchester--Nevada

Just Like Living in Paradise

1950-Today When people are on the Las Vegas Strip, they’re really in Paradise — the town, that is. In 1950, a rumor surfaced that the City of Las Vegas’ boundaries would be expanded to include…

Andrew Jackson "Jack" Blackman Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Town House (Reno, NV) United States Walter Parman

Shakedown in Reno Escalates (Part 1)

1944-1945 A thug’s confrontation of a casino owner on October 30, 1944 radically altered both of their lives. Andrew Jackson “Jack” Blackman, co-proprietor of the Town House gambling saloon* in Reno, left his business for…

107th Street Mob Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Shills Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Helmuth Hartmann It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada United States

The Wanted Man of Mystery

1941 The man who played roulette in the Palace Club nearly every day for six months was noticeable for his suave appearance. Henry Helmut, age 47, had a bit of gray hair and sported a…

"Razzle Dazzle: The Elaine Townsend Story" Casino History Connie Immerman Cuba Elaine Townsend Gambling History Gambling: Concessions Games / Races: Chemin de Fer Games / Races: Craps Gaming History Gran Casino Nacional (Havana, Cuba) Havana--Cuba It Really Happened

Woman Usurps Mobsters’ Gaming Action

1947-1952 Despite New York mobsters trying to scare her off, an ambitious woman — Elaine Townsend (née Margaret Helgeson) — held her own as a gambling operator in the late 1940s. Bright, young and gorgeous, she…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened John "Johnny" W. Hicks Nevada United States

Dangerous Liaisons in Sin City

1972-1977 A $25,000 ($146,000 today) offer for the murder of 27-year-old John “Johnny” W. Hicks had been circulated, it was rumored throughout Las Vegas in mid-1972. The son of Marion B. Hicks, previous owner of…

Casino History Chicago--Illinois Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Torture Estelle Carey Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nicholas Deani "Nick Dean" Circella United States William "Willie" M. Bioff

“Dice Girl” Rolls Horrendous Fate

1943 In the mid-afternoon of Tuesday, February 2, 1943, smoke emanating from a third-story apartment in Lakeview, Illinois led to the discovery of a woman dead inside — her face, head and neck mutilated, her…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Disseminating Horse Racing Info Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Illegal Gaming History It Really Happened Jack Sullivan / John D. Scarlett Nevada Raymond J. Poncia United States Washoe Publishing Co. (Wire Service) Western News Co. (Wire Service)

Reno Mobsters’ Bank Club Breaks Gambling Law

1940-1941 In a series of raids in December 1940, Washoe County deputy sheriffs confiscated gambling-related paraphernalia from three Reno, Nevada locations: 1) Bank Club casino 2) Washoe Publishing Company (WPC) (room 311 in the Lyons Building)…