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Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Sonoma Inn (Winnemucca, NV) United States Winnemucca--Nevada Winners Inn and Casino (Winnemucca, NV)

Quick Fact – “Fun, Play and Gaiety”

1947 The Sonoma Inn hotel-casino debuted on May 27, 1947 at 185 W. Winnemucca Boulevard in Winnemucca in Northwestern Nevada, about halfway between Reno and Wells, likely named after the nearby Sonoma Range mountains. In…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: Streeter Plan for Nevada (Proposed) Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Chicago Crime Commission Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Washoe County D.A.--Nevada Meyer Lansky Nevada Politicians / Politics: Jack Streeter United States

Plan: Eject Mobsters from Nevada Gambling

1954 “If the Streeter suggestion should catch fire and the state took over gambling, it would be the damnedest experiment tried in the United States, and Nevada would have more hoodlums per square block than…

Casino History Crystal Bay--Nevada Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Judy Garland Nevada Quick Facts The Garland Sisters United States

Quick Fact – Casino Discovery

1935 Singer and actress Judy Garland (neé Frances Ethel Gumm) was discovered while headlining with her two older sisters at the Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Theatrical agent Al Rosen was in the…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling License Gambling: Fines Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Ralph Engelstad United States

Casino Owner’s Offense Embarrasses Nevada

1988-1989 Tipped off by the contents of various lawsuits and complaints by employees, Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) agents raided the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino* on September 27, 1988. The 2,700-room property located on…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – So Done

1946 Mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel’s wife, Esta (née Esther Krakower) filed for divorce in Reno, Nevada after 17 years of marriage. The two had wed when she was 18 and he was 23. In the…

Casino History Gambling History Games / Races: Contests Gaming History Hacienda (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Nevada Supreme Court Nevada United States

Vegas Casino Welshes on Paying Out

1958-1961 The Hacienda in Las Vegas, Nevada held an ongoing promotional contest at its golf course, which was widely advertised, even on the back of the postcard above. Participants would pay 50 cents (about $4.25 today) per…

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

Quick Fact – Out of Thin Air

1964 When dealer Lue Dennis exited her work, Harolds Club casino, a man descended and hit the pavement in front of her. Reno resident, John Nahirney, age 79, had fallen from the Nevada casino’s fire…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Raids Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History George L. O'Dwyer It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Louisiana State Police Louisiana New Orleans--Louisiana O'Dwyer's (New Orleans, LA) Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee Rudolph "Rudy" T. O'Dwyer United States

Unexpected Cost at New Orleans Gambling Raid

1953 On a weeknight in May, Louisiana state policemen surrounded a high-end home in the New Orleans suburbs. One of them knocked on a secret side door that contained a one-way glass window, allowing those…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Beano Games / Races: Bingo Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Edwin S. Lowe Massachusetts Quick Facts Tally Ho (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact – Beano v. Bingo

1944 “Are you in favor of banning beano when played for prizes?” This was one of Massachusetts’ 1944 ballot questions. By the 1940s, beano — played with beans as markers, hence the name, and popular on…