Reno--Nevada Archives

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Dixie's Log Cabin (Reno, NV) Gambling History Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Gaming History It Really Happened Joyce Moseley Nevada Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Reno--Nevada United States

Game of 21 Leads to Murder

1953-1955 When sheriff’s deputies responded to a 10:45 p.m. call from Dixie’s Log Cabin* on January 11, 1953, they found a man, injured and lying in the parking lot there. He was Raymond “Bud” Dutcher,…

Bar of Music (Reno, NV) Barrel House (Reno, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Counterfeiting Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Jackpots Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Games / Races: Ten-O-Win Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada The Cedars (Reno, NV) United States Wolf Den (Reno, NV)

The Powerful Lure of a Bedazzling Jackpot

Happy New Year!! 1907-1945 Wanting to kick off 2021 with a positive blog post and being inspired by the $15.5 million jackpot win on Christmas Eve at Las Vegas’ Suncoast Hotel and Casino, we sought…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Cal-Neva Lodge (Lake Tahoe, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Rigged Roulette Wheel Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Elmer "Bones" F. Remmer Frank "Frankie" Frost Gambling History Gaming History George Wingfield Golden Hotel (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Jack Sullivan / John D. Scarlett James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Nevada New York--New York Reno--Nevada Riverside Hotel (Reno, NV) United States William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Reno Mobsters Aid Gangster From Chicago, Raising Suspicions

1936 A man walked into the Greenleaf & Crosby jewelry store in New York’s Rockefeller Center at about 11 a.m. on Monday, January 6. Two others followed through the other entrance. “This is a stickup,”…

Alphonse "Al/Scarface" Capone Arnold Rothstein Bank Club (Reno, NV) Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Chicago--Illinois Continental Press Service (Chicago, IL) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Extortion Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Suicide Events: St. Valentine's Day Massacre Frank "Frankie" Frost Gambling History Gambling: Bookmaking George "Bugs" Moran Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Los Angeles-California Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno Turf Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada Transamerica Wire Service United States William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Mobster-Gambler Frank Frost Leaves Crime Trail in Chicago, Los Angeles, Reno

1906-1967 Frank “Frankie” Frost (1898-1967) spent about two decades working in Reno’s gambling scene and had close relationships with those in power locally, including gambler-Mobsters William “Bill/Curly” Graham and James “Jim/Cinch” McKay and banker and…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Reno City Council (NV) Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Reno City Council: William A. Justi It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Nevada Reno--Nevada United States William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Was Reno City Councilman Crooked?

Justi 1923-1945 Reno, Nevada’s Third Ward city councilman during the 1920s and 1930s was “owned by” the local Mobsters, acted in their interests and protected them, contended Harold S. Smith, Jr., Harolds Club co-owner, in…

Belle Livingstone Casino History Casino: Takeovers Charles Rennie Chesterfield Syndicate (Detroit, MI) Clarence Shockey Crystal Bay--Nevada Daniel "Danny" W. Sullivan Gambling History Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Reno City Council (NV) Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Reno City Council: William A. Justi Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) Harry Robbin Incline Village--Nevada Isadore Edward "Ed" Robbin It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay James Merrell John "Johnny" Rayburn Lincoln Fitzgerald Monte Carlo (Reno, NV) Nevada Raymond Reuben "Ruby" Mathis Reno--Nevada Robbin and Robbin / Robbins' Nevada Club Ta-Neva-Ho (Crystal Bay , NV) United States William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Mobsters Horn in on Northern Nevada Gambling Clubs

Ad in the Nevada State Journal, June 26, 1935 1929-1941 In the early decades of legal gambling in Nevada, Reno’s McKay/Graham combine expropriated legitimate business owners’ casinos in Washoe County. The local Mob, headed by…

Al Hoffman Alfred Leo Rooney Casino History Clifford Sykes Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Rigged Roulette Wheel Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Stacked Card Decks Dutch Garden (Reno, NV) Fred Stengler Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History George "Shorty" L. Coppersmith George "Shorty" M. King It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Phil Curti Reno--Nevada The Dog House (Reno, NV) United States

Few Convictions for Cheating at Gambling Interpreted

1931-1948 Gambling and cheating at gambling go together like, well, coins in a slot machine or cards in a shoe. Seemingly, they always will despite various efforts — violence, laws/rules, surveillance, firings, procedures, technology and…

Belle Livingstone Casino History Gambler (Operators/Players) Gambler (Operators/Players): Memoirs Gambling Gambling: Mobster Control Of Gaming History Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations Nevada Reno--Nevada United States William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Reno Gambling Club Owners Describe Industry’s Ruling Mobsters

1920s-1930s It’s undisputed that Mobsters ruled early gambling in Reno, Nevada’s 1920s and 1930s. Two club owners who offered games of chance in the city courageously wrote, in their memoirs roughly two decades later, about…

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…

Reno–Nevada