Nevada Archives

Casino History Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc. Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc.: H.M. Hicks Gambling History Gambling License Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission It Really Happened Nevada Oak Room (Reno, NV) Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee Pyramid Securities Inc.: Carl Inskeep Pyramid Securities Inc.: Emmett Shea Pyramid Securities Inc.: Joe Caulk United States

Games of Chance Appropriate in Bus Depot?

1951 Prior to the July grand opening of the new Greyhound Lines Inc. bus terminal at 224 S. Center Street in Reno, Pyramid Securities Inc. applied for a gambling license and permission to offer games…

Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc. Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Fraud Gambling History Gambling: Equipment Gaming History Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Oak Room (Reno, NV) Pyramid Securities Inc.: Joe Larango

Slot Machines Land on Trouble in Reno

1953 Theodore “Ted” Donaldson, 31, bought six slot machines from Joe Larango of Pyramid Securities Inc., a company with the devices in several Reno, Nevada locations, including the Oak Room casino. Donaldson paid the $1,825 cost…

Beverly Hills-California Casino: Mock Ethnic Groups: African Americans Gambling History Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Keno Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History It Really Happened Landmark Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Madison--Wisconsin Nevada United States Virginia

Replicated Casinos: Who, Why, When and Where

1957, 1962, 1968, 1974 Over the years, entities around the world fashioned casinos for various educational and training purposes. Here are four that were based in the U.S.: 1) Instruction for Novice Players In 1957,…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Disturbing the Peace Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Golden Bank (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Beat-it-Out-of-You Approach

1957 Inside the Golden Bank Casino on a Saturday afternoon, security personnel saw Merle Naughton, 40-year-old salesman, yanking and pounding on slot machines. When they told him to leave, he did. He went across the…

Casino History Did You Know? Eli Francovich Gambling History Games / Races: Wheel of Fortune Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States Wine House (Reno, NV)

Quick Fact – Engendering Envy

1929 When the only types of legal gambling in Nevada were poker, five hundred, solo, whist, parimutuel betting on horse races and slot machines with restrictions, owner Eli Francovich* installed in his Wine House club…

California Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Assistance Devices Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Bob Bamford / Joe Alper Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Pasadena--California Sahara (Las Vegas, NV) United States

“Electronic Brain Upsets Vegas Blackjack Dealers”

1960 “Las Vegas seemed to be both fascinated and frightened by the little computing machine,” reported Ray Duncan in the Independent Star-News (Dec. 5, 1960). The referenced device, via a dial on its front, advised…

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

Quick Fact – Temporary Casino Plague

1935 Avoiding darkness, they only emerged amid brightness, real or artificial. They congregated outside of every Reno, Nevada gambling club at the beginning of June, pestering the guests as they entered and exited. One night…

Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Equipment Gambling: Revenue Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Ray Wherrit Southern Nevada Vending Company United States

Cashing In, Out on Slot Machine Route

1951-1954 In October 1951, Southern California resident, Wayne H. Teipel, responded to a “For Sale” ad in the Los Angeles Examiner for a slot machine, pinball game and phonograph route business in Las Vegas, Nevada.…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Gambling at Both Ends

1947 When the luxurious 12-story Mapes hotel opened in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, December 27, 1947, it boasted two casinos. One was on the river side of the main level, the other in the southwest…

Brothels Brothels: Ash Meadows Sky Ranch (Lathrop Wells, NV) Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Lathrop Wells (Amargosa Valley)--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact – An “Unsuitable” Combo

1972 The brothel Ash Meadows Sky Ranch, in Lathrop Wells (today Amargosa Valley) in Nye County, accessible via an airstrip, was denied a gambling license by Nevada gaming regulators to operate four slot machines on…

Casino History Eldorado Resort Casino (Reno, NV) Four Queens Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Bally Distributing Company Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Currency Gaming Devices Inc. Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Dick Graves Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: SIRCOMA (Si Redd's Coin Machines) Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: William "Si" Redd Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities: Big Bertha Constellations Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities: Big Berthas Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities: Super Berthas Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Plantation Casino / Rail City Casino (Sparks, NV) United States

Slot Machines Go Big … and Ginormous

1960s-Today The Big Bertha introduced in the 1960s wasn’t a circus lady or a German howitzer; it was a made-in-Nevada slot machine that became iconic. Named for its size, the three-reel device stood 5 to…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Keno Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities: Big Berthas Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Silver Spur (Reno, NV) United States

Quick Fact – Spurring On Business

1968 During the grand opening of the Silver Spur casino at 221 N. Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada on July 1, 1968, the ribbon was cut with a silver spur that Audie Murphy used in the…