It Really Happened Archives

Anti-Gambling / Anti-Casino Efforts Casino History Crystal Bay--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada United States

Lawsuit: No Casino in My Neighborhood, Period

1945-1947 Ray Wherrit and Austin K. Wright of San Luis Obispo, California set out in 1945 to build a $120,000 hotel-casino in the Crystal Bay Park subdivision on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. The…

Casino History Casino: Openings Casino: Shutdowns Gambling Gambling History Gambling License Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Harolds Trapshooting Club (Spanish Springs, NV) It Really Happened Jabberwock Gun Club (Spanish Springs, NV) Nevada Raymond "Pappy" I. Smith Raymond A. Smith Spanish Springs--Nevada United States

Double The Pleasure, Double The Fun

1949-1979 Harolds wasn’t the only Northern Nevada club with gambling that the Smiths owned for decades. In 1950, the renowned gambling family purchased Jabberwock Gun Club, located on the Pyramid Lake Highway in what today…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: San Francisco Police Department--California Law Enforcement / Judicial System: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Nevada San Francisco--California United States

Draftsman Gets a Wild Hair … Or Two … Or Three

1952 “Someone very dear to you is being held and will be killed if you don’t give me the money.” This was the content of the note, a bluff, Frederick Charles Will, handed to the…

Casino History Frontier (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Howard Hughes It Really Happened Nevada United States

Howard Hughes’ Frontier Casino Becomes Guinea Pig

1968-1971 A couple and a third man approached a 21 table in the Frontier in Las Vegas, Nevada on a Monday afternoon. The husband, Douglas Anderson, distracted the dealer. In that moment, his wife, Beverly…

Abe F. Brown Casino History Ed Kennedy Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Loss Games / Races: Faro Gaming History George Wingfield It Really Happened Nevada Tonopah Club (Tonopah, NV) Tonopah--Nevada United States

High Roller Bucks the Tiger in Tonopah

1907 A faro game with a $50 limit (at least $1,200 today) was underway in the Tonopah Club on a Thursday night in February. Colonel Abe F. Brown, one of the three proprietors of this…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments DeSoto County--Mississippi Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Illegal Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: DeSoto County Sheriff Elton S. Baxter--Mississippi Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Shelby County Sheriff Guy Joyner--Tennessee Mississippi Politicians / Politics: MS Governor Paul E. Johnson Shelby County--Tennessee Tennessee United States

Law Officers Battle Over Gambling in the South

1940 They couldn’t just agree to disagree. They were the sheriffs of two bordering counties in different states. Sheriff Guy Joyner of Shelby County, Tennessee insisted illegal gambling was taking place just past the state…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Gambler (Operators/Players): Estate Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Jack Sullivan / John D. Scarlett Nevada United States Willows (Reno, NV)

An Inside Look at Late Gambler’s Estate

1951 Canada-born Jack Sullivan, né John D. Scarlett, had co-owned and run the Bank Club for two decades and prior to that, the Willows (it burned down in 1932) — both Reno, Nevada casino hotspots.…

Casino de Monte-Carlo (Monaco) Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Education Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: B.C. Wills & Co. Gaming History Golden Hotel (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Monaco Nevada

Nevada Schools Monte Carlo on Craps

1949 “Eight the hard way!” “It’s the Big Dick!” “Next shooter, please!” “Seven, you lose!” When translated into the French language, these common phrases shouted by stickmen during craps lose their pizazz and bite, their…

Former Illegal U.S. Gamblers Open Turkey’s First Casino

Casino d'Istanbul (Istanbul, Turkey) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Bombings Gambling History Games / Races: Baccarat Games / Races: Chemin de Fer Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Hot Springs--Arkansas Istanbul--Turkey It Really Happened

Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: U.S. Act to Prohibit Bucketing and Bucket Shopping Gambling: Bucket Shopping Games / Races: Commodities Gaming History It Really Happened Politicians / Politics: U.S. President William Taft United States

Bucket Shopping: A Species of Gambling

1870s-1920s “I want to go short 1,000 bushels of December wheat, 1 cent on the bushel.” This $10 bet was typical back in the heyday of bucket shops in the United States, between 1870 and…

It Really Happened