Crimes / Violence / Punishments Archives

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers Colombo Hotel (Reno, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting It Really Happened

Bad Blood Between Casino Dealers

1935 Police discovered John S. Parks, a 67 year old, carrying a loaded Colt 45 automatic on a downtown Reno, Nevada street around midnight on a July Monday. With blood streaming from his nose and…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel California Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Frank Nitti It Really Happened Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) Movies / Movie Stars / Entertainers / Celebrities

Movie Starlet Murdered by Mobster?

1934-1935 Today, 80 years later, the circumstances of actress Thelma Todd’s death remain a mystery, and the case still is one of Hollywood’s infamous unsolveds. A deep cover-up precluded the truth about the incident from…

Gambling Gambling: Shills Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board It Really Happened Nevada Rolo Casino (Reno, NV)

Gambling Decoys: Shills, Proposition Players

1947-1979 “Neat appearing girls from 21 to 25 to shill and learn to deal games at Rolo Casino, 14 E. Commercial Row,” read a Help Wanted ad in the Nevada State Journal (June 6, 1947). A shill,…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – He Who Cheats First …

1938 During a preliminary hearing on the felony charge of using a cheating device while playing cards at a Las Vegas gambling house, Walter Eccles of Los Angeles explained that he’d used a holdout worn…

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…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Francis Leo Luckett Gambler (Operators/Players): Card Sharps Gambling History Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada Tip Club (Reno, NV) United States

Ace of Spades Defeats Card Sharp

1930 Cheating at gambling in the early 20th century in Nevada could land a person in serious trouble. That’s exactly what happened to Francis Leo Luckett, 28. A Pennsylvania native, he’d been in Reno by…

Casino History Cleveland's Mayfield Road Gang Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Run Games / Races: Craps Geographical Areas Moe Dalitz Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Beginners’ Luck

1950 The $1.6 million Desert Inn resort had just opened in Las Vegas, and a gambling naif nearly put it out of business. A 22-year-old sailor, who didn’t know much about gambling, bet $1 on…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Prizes Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Shot at a Car

1972 Recognize these cars? A Pinto, Chevelle, Javelin and Datsun 240Z? Harrah’s hotel-casino in Reno, Nevada gave them away as well as cash in four weekly drawings for $35,000 worth of prizes ($205,000 today) over the…

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…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: El Dorado County Sheriff Ernest Carlson--California Nevada Stateline--Nevada

Murder Mystery at South Shore

1958-1959 Clarence Thayer grew ill with flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving Day in 1958 while visiting his sister in Oakland, California. He was a well drilling contractor who lived in South Lake Tahoe. He and his…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Elite Club (Ely, Nevada) Ely--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History Goodsprings--Nevada It Really Happened Nevada Oberon Saloon (Sparks, NV) Pioneer Saloon (Goodsprings, NV) United States

Men Quick to Fire in Gambling Clashes

1904, 1915, 1936 Against a backdrop of sagebrush and dust in Nevada’s early, remote mining towns, saloons drew men for drinking and gambling. That combination, along with contrarian/antagonistic personalities, sometimes led to disputes that turned…