Casino: Openings

The Brief Tale of Jokereno, Game and Club, in "The Biggest Little City"

1931-1932 In 1931, the year Nevada legalized gambling on a wide open basis, the state’s major metropolis Reno saw the introduction of the game of chance jokereno and the namesake place offering it commercially, the…

Greek Gambling Game Barbudi Doesn't Catch on in Reno

1964-1965 “Build it, and they will come” wasn’t a sure thing for gambling houses in Nevada, particularly ones offering an uncommon game. Case in point is the Barboot Coffee House and Casino in Reno. The…

Renowned Boxers Maneuver Into Gambling-Related Businesses

This gambling history blog post discusses four famous boxers and their involvement with casino-related enterprises in the 1900s, in Mexico and Nevada. Learn more here.

2 Nevadans Build International Gambling Empire

1958-1962 With their involvement in Nevada casinos behind them, Silver State residents, Clifford “Cliff” A. Jones and Jacob “Jake” Kozloff, together accrued a string of gambling enterprises in and around South America. Who They Were…

Reputation of U.S. Gamblers as Criminals Bears Out in Europe

1961-1966 “When you bring in gamblers, you bring in trained law violators, and to expect them not to break the law is to expect the tides not to rise,” Wallace Turner wrote in Gambler’s Money.…

Spite Leads to Creation and Destruction of World's "Most Sumptuous" Casino

1929-1933 Le Casino Municipal in Nice, France refused to cash Frank Jay Gould’s check so he could keep gambling there. This irked him. Gould wasn’t just a member of the bourgeoisie. Rather, he was an…