Games / Races Archives

Artists / Designers: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Art Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened United States

Paintings of Canine Gamblers Still Ring True 100 Years Later

1894-Today In his paintings depicting dogs as humans, Cassius “Kash” Marcellus Coolidge (1844-1934) brilliantly captured the nuances of poker playing and gambling. The dogs’ expressions are spot on and the details, comedic. Perhaps Coolidge himself…

Ben Furuta Charles P. O'Keefe Fred Taketo Aoyama Fred Y. Yamagishi Gambling History Games / Races: Bingo Games / Races: Tango It Really Happened James L. O'Keefe Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Nevada Supreme Court Lottie M. O'Keefe Nevada Reno Club, Inc. (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada United States William "Bill" F. Harrah Y. Yamagishi

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…

Casino (Reno, NV) Casino History Cincinnati--Ohio Columbus--Ohio Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Misspot Dice Europe Gambler (Operators/Players): Cheater: Jim Pents Gambler (Operators/Players): Dice Cheats: Harmony Kid Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Horse Racing Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Hot Springs--Arkansas It Really Happened New York--New York Palace (Reno, NV) Pekin--Illinois Reno--Nevada United States Washington--Indiana

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…

California Casino History Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Panguingue It Really Happened Nevada Philippines United States Washington

Games of Chance: Panguingue Demystified

Though its popularity declined since its heyday, panguingue rightfully earned a place in United States gambling history. Great, but what the heck is it? Panguingue, or pan for short, is a rummy-type gambling card game.…

Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel (Tijuana, Mexico) Club Cal-Neva (Reno, NV) Club Fortune (Reno, NV) Gambling History Games / Races: Tango Gaming History It Really Happened Joseph Zemansky Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

Casino History: It Takes Club Fortune to Tango

1937-1947 More so than craps, roulette, 21 and slots, all on offer, tango enraptured gamblers at Club Fortune, then “the outstanding night spot in Western Nevada,” according to the Reno Evening Gazette (Jan. 12, 1953).…

Casino Casino History Casino: Openings Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Skimming Europe Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: Isle of Man Pool Betting Act 1961 Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Chemin de Fer Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Isle of Man Isle of Man (Manx) Casino / Palace Hotel & Casino (Isle of Man) It Really Happened Sean Connery

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.…

Artists / Designers: Roger Price (Droodles) Gambling History Gambling: Art Games / Races: Craps Gaming History It Really Happened United States

Historic Droodle Depicts Gambling Euphemisms

1957 Here’s one of Roger Price’s Droodles, funny drawings of everyday objects, called “Sick With the Measles.“ The accompanying anecdote read: “When my landlady Mrs. Goonsgarten saw this Droodle, she made me sign a statement…

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Sports Game Fixing Eddie Ginsberg Events: 1946 NFL NFC Conference Championship Gambling History Games / Races: Sports Betting Gaming History Genovese Crime Family (New York) It Really Happened Jerome Zarowitz Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Supreme Court of New York New Jersey New York Patriarca Crime Family (Boston) Sports Teams Sports Teams: Chicago Bears (NFL) Sports Teams: New York Giants (NFL) United States

Gamblers Put the Squeeze On National Football League Players

1946-1947 Alvin J. Paris ingratiated himself with two New York Giants football players by inviting them to parties at his apartment and taking them to nightclubs. He bet on a Giants game and gave them…

Casino History Casino: Openings Casino: Shutdowns Europe France Frank Jay Gould Gambling History Games / Races: Baccarat Gaming History It Really Happened Le Casino Municipal (Nice, France) Nice--France Palais de la Méditerranée (Nice, France)

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…

Casino History Florida Gambling History Games / Races: Policy / Numbers Gaming History It Really Happened New York--New York United States Washington

Wacky Gambling News From the 1930s, 1940s

“Pigeon Jailed for Gambling” New York, May 29, 1941 Two New York Police Department plainclothesmen arrested a pigeon that then was forced to spend the night in the Bronx police station. Five other such birds,…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Gambler (Operators/Players): Card Sharps Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened P.J. Kepplinger San Francisco--California United States

The World's Cleverest, Most Successful Card Cheating Apparatus

1888 It was the “very finest … the world has ever seen … a masterpiece,” wrote John Nevil Maskelyne in his 1894 book, Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at…

Casino History Florida Gambling History Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Gaming History It Really Happened Miami--Florida Myrton "Mert" Wertheimer Royal Palm Club (Miami, FL) United States

Gambler Adds Device to Get Roulette, Craps Defined as Slot Machines

1937 After Florida legalized slot machines in 1935, casino operator Myrton “Mert” Wertheimer, 53, devised a way to also get craps and roulette, unlawful at the time, allowed under the new rule. (Previously, only dog…