Gambling

Quick Fact – Seer Balzar

1930 In December, while vacationing in Southern California, Nevada Governor Frederick “Fred” Balzar — foretelling the future — told reporters that gambling already was wide open in his state and that a bill making it…

The Big Squeeze at Reno Casino

1955-1966 Harry Chon, licensed operator of the gambling operations at the Old Cathay Club* in Reno, Nevada, found himself in an uncomfortable spot, under pressure from two parties, in 1956. The story begins about a…

Quick Fact – Early Gambling Ban

1859 Before Nevada became a state (1864), a few hundred miners at Gold Hill — in what then was the Territory of Utah — passed some anti-crime laws. One forbade gambling:  “No Banking games, under…

Dirty Police Chief in City of Angels?

1886 In fall 1886, Officer John L. Fonck confronted one of his superiors face to face. He charged Chief of Police J.W. Davis with “standing in with the gamblers,” in other words, allowing them to…

Quick Fact – Serious Boredom

1800s To amuse themselves, some miners — California ones, as reported in this case — staged lice fights and waged large sums on the outcome. They placed two Pediculus humanus face to face on a…

Unable To Provide An Alibi

1906-1907 “They’ll never get me,” prisoner John Edwards said while being ushered into court for his trial. “They’ll never fasten anything on me” (Nevada State Journal, April 19, 1906). “Hasn’t a man a right to…

Feds Pounce on Vegas Racketeers

1970-1975 In a massive, coordinated effort, federal agents raided illegal bookmaking operations throughout the U.S. with ties to organized crime. On December 12, 1970, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents…

Quick Fact – Betting “The Farm”

1908 Johnny-Behind-the-Gat bet more than he should’ve. He was a prospector and miner said to have little common sense, a big temper and a penchant for using his weapon to solve disputes. John Cyty (his…

Quick Fact – Oasis in the Desert

1950 Las Vegas spent $750,000 a year on advertising (about $7.5 million today). The Chamber of Commerce promoted the town as: “An oasis for the harassed refugees from artificial restraints and laws of other states.”…

Nevada Makes Gamblers Choose

1957-1959 During Nevada’s 1957 legislature, State Senator Kenneth Johnson (R-Ormsby), voiced his concerns about some of the state’s gambling licensees* simultaneously co-owning Cuban casinos. He feared that: • Nevada licensees might form alliances with U.S.…

Quick Fact – Rural Gambling Ban

1954 Due to the 1953 scandal in Wells, Nevada, the state tax commissioners in June 1954 prohibited open gambling in the town of Jackpot, just south of the Nevada-Idaho border along U.S. Route 93. They worried…

The Duel at Big Hat

1948 Arthur T. Morgan belligerently stormed into the Big Hat casino on Highway 91 (outside Las Vegas, Nevada) at about 1:30 a.m. on a Friday night in spring. He immediately began heckling, threatening to shoot…