Gambling License Fees: No Joke
1935 In 1934, John Petricciani regained use of his Reno, Nevada, property he’d owned for 10 years and first licensed his saloon, the Palace Bar, for roulette and 21 games, one apiece. Prior, he’d leased…
Who To Believe In The Wild West
1920 Some shady business went down between Felix Turillas, Sr., who owned Reno’s Espanol hotel and who went on to own several Northern Nevada casinos, and two men, Joe Musso and Joe Stropin. According to…
Casino History
Casino: Bankruptcies
Casino: Corporations: Club Cal-Neva Inc.
Casino: Corporations: Spinning Wheel Corp.
Clifford Jones
Club Cal-Neva (Reno, NV)
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion
Earl Snyder
Gambling History
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service
It Really Happened
James "Jim" Contratto
Joe Wells
Marion Hicks
Nevada
Saddle Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Sanford Adler
Silver Palace (Las Vegas, NV)
Tahoe Biltmore (Crystal Bay, NV)
United States
IRS Swoops Down on Casino Cash
1955-1956 At 9:15 a.m. on Friday, November 11, 1955, eight U.S. IRS agents entered the Club Cal-Neva in Reno, Nevada, demanding payment of $65,000 (about $600,000 today) in overdue withholding and excise taxes. When the…
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
Folsom State Prison (CA)
Gambling History
Gaming History
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Nevada
Town House (Reno, NV)
United States
Shakedown in Reno Escalates (Part 2)
1944-1945 The trial of Andrew Jackson “Jack” Blackman, free on $10,000 bail, began in April 1945, six months after he’d fatally shot James Lannigan in the Bank Club in Reno, Nevada. District Attorney Melvin E. Jepson, in…
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…
Bartley "Bart" J. Smithson
Casino History
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder
Ely--Nevada
Gambling History
Gaming History
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Officer Herbert "Burt" D. Long
Nevada
Palace Club (Ely, NV)
United States
Gambler Destroys the Peace … Officer
1932 At about 4:30 on a Sunday morning, a drunk Bartley “Bart” J. Smithson was target practicing in the Palace Club, shooting at a spittoon and a silver dollar with a 0.38 Smith & Wesson…
Beldon Katleman
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling History
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Shoddy Accounting
1956 When auditors for Nevada reviewed its books, they discovered the El Rancho casino on the Las Vegas Strip had underpaid the requisite gambling taxes over nine quarters by $39,000 ($350,500 today). Despite the claims…
Abner "Longie" Zwillman
Casino History
Clifford Jones
Cuba
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
Golden Nugget (Las Vegas, NV)
Haiti
International Casino (Haiti)
It Really Happened
Lucky Strike (Las Vegas, NV)
Meyer Lansky
Nevada
Palace Club (Las Vegas, NV)
United States
Vegas Gambler Defies Mandate
1959 In February, The New York Times outed Clifford A. Jones. It brought to light that he held gambling interests in and out of Nevada, which The Silver State’s gaming law then prohibited. It was…
California
Casino History
Folsom State Prison (CA)
Gambling History
Gaming History
It Really Happened
John Quinn
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Nevada
San Francisco--California
United States
Gambler’s Wealth Meets Undue Fate
1924-1932 The story of the estate of a long-ago Nevada gambler after his passing is strange and unfortunate. John Quinn was a man who’d lost and made large fortunes in gambling and mining stock deals…
Beldon Katleman
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
Boulder Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Casino History
El Cortez (Las Vegas, NV)
Fremont Street--Las Vegas
Gambling History
Gambling: War
Gaming History
Golden Nugget (Las Vegas, NV)
It Really Happened
Las Vegas Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Meyer Lansky
Monte Carlo (Las Vegas, NV)
Nevada
Sin City
United States
Western Club (Las Vegas, NV)
William J. Moore
Alleged Vegas Gambling War Brews
1949 The article, “Las Vegas Gamblers Arming in Control Battle,” ran on the front page of a Los Angeles newspaper in the third week of December, to the chagrin of Nevada gambling regulators, casino owners,…