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Card Sharp Pens Tell-Almost-All Book

In the autobiographical book, Cheater, the author Clint Stone (most likely an alias), paints himself as a lifelong gambling cheat. His specialty is mucking, using sleight of hand, one hand in his case, to introduce…

Place For a Roaring Good Time

1949 The Smiths, who owned and operated Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada appropriately named their casino Roaring Camp. Generally, a roaring camp was “a gold-prospecting camp characterized by wild behavior, unrestrained drinking and gambling,” according…

10 Intriguing Facts About Mob Tied Gambler Sam Termini

1928-1972 Samuel “Sam” F. Termini (1903-1972) was known as a small-time racketeer who worked at and operated gambling enterprises mostly for others. Here are 10 interesting tidbits about him and his life: Gambling History 1)…

U.S. Runs Gambling House in Nevada

1913-1915 Circumstances of a lawsuit in the U.S. led to an unusual occurrence, even for Nevada: the federal government taking over and running a Silver State casino. It was The Big Casino, a combination casino,…

Bosa Bros.' Mobster Great Grandfather Involved in Gambling

1935-1965 Tony Accardo, né Antonino Leonardo Accardo (1906-1992), is credited with reviving and expanding the Chicago Outfit’s gambling business in the 1940s after the organization’s head Paul “The Waiter” Ricca named him underboss. Accardo himself…

War Disables Nevada Tango Club Owners

1941-1952 The 1941 breakout of war between the U.S. and Japan started a series of deleterious events for Nevada’s first tango parlor Reno Club, Inc. and its proprietors. These included a tangle with a newcomer…

Quick Fact -- Lady Godiva Trots to New Residence

Lady Godiva has a new address. Looking gorgeous in a long blue dress, she and her horse distinctively embellish the front yard of a Carson City home. Godiva appears as though she’s arriving for a…

Two Lake Tahoe Hotel-Casinos Sold in 2021

Acquisitions in the same month of two hotel-casinos near one another at Lake Tahoe in Northern Nevada is anomalous and newsworthy. Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino (Incline Village, NV) Hyatt Hotels Corp.,…

Extreme and Dangerous: One Gambling Cheat and His Career

1886-1910 The Harmony Kid made his living as a traveling gambling cheat in the U.S. and was known from coast to coast. While primarily a card and dice sharp, Lawrence Varner (1865-1933) also perpetrated swindles…

"Wild Finish of Naughty Nevada"

1910 Nevada was to cease all gambling operations and activity by midnight September 30, 1910* per a new law, already passed.** The final night, a Friday, was unlike any other before. “Nevada is determined to…

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…

The Tavern, "Reno's Smartest Night Club," Endures Nine Years

1932-1941 The original owners of The Tavern in Reno planned to open it on Nevada Day (October 31) in 1932, but the economic downturn in the state, caused by The Great Depression, forced them to…