The Louvre and Oberon Saloons in Reno, Nevada

1900-1906

A snapshot of six early years of one popular gambling-saloon in Reno, Nevada spotlights some of the problems these establishments routinely faced: on-site crime, financial troubles, crooked games and changes in both owners and gambling operators.

Though the Louvre debuted in May 1897* at 22 E. Commercial Row in the then-called Marshall Building, it wasn’t until 1900 that any gambling associated with the enterprise was mentioned in the local newspapers. All earlier Louvre reports touted its unique beer offerings, fine cigars, music and lunches, but this new news brief was that “two new games are running there.” One was faro, the other one, unknown, perhaps craps.**

Thus, we begin our presentation of events then, just after the turn of the century, when the firm of Robinson & Matson owns the Louvre and remodels its interior.

1901

October: Burglars attempt to rob the Louvre’s safe, but it doesn’t go as planned. They successfully blow off the door with explosives but fail to penetrate the inner vault. They abort their plan.

1902

April: C.C. Cox, from Texas, acquires the Louvre for $6,500 (about $180,000 today).

December: Alex Aguayo assumes management of the Louvre’s gambling.

1903

Bookmaking becomes legal in Nevada.

January: Thomas Ward joins Aguayo in management.

February: For unknown reasons, Aguayo “retires” from the Louvre (Nevada State Journal, Feb. 23, 1903).

April: A.L. Mason & B.F. Bailey, of Red Bluff, California, purchases the Louvre for $7,000 ($196,000 today), gives it a front facelift and adds a second story for gambling, per Nevada law.***

June: While playing faro in the Louvre, a 59-year-old man, Frank Fusselman, dies from a heart attack.

September: Bailey retires, leaving Mason to run the Louvre on his own.

November: Bert and Grant Crumley take over running the gambling and upstairs bar.

December: Leading up to Christmas and then, New Year’s Day, the Louvre gives away a turkey to every patron who pays 10 cents to spin the Big Wheel.

1904

April: Charles Dreyer, proprietor of the adjoining Oberon gambling saloon, secures the top floor of the Louvre. (His plan is to combine it with the Oberon’s, creating one large space in which to offer gambling, but he never does).

1905

Slot machines now are legal in Nevada.

April: Dreyer purchases the Louvre’s building from Mrs. Marshall for $18,000 ($505,000 today). Mason remains the Louvre’s proprietor.

May: Charles Stout and Mart Johnson take over management of the Louvre. Stout has a stake in Reno’s Arlington Hotel. Johnson is the proprietor of The Ingleside roadhouse and former co-owner of the Palace Hotel, both in Reno.

June: The Louvre bank goes broke, and Stout and Johnson temporarily shut down the faro and craps. They restart them the next day, though, with a new, $20,000 bank roll.

September: Stout and Johnson again close the Louvre’s games, this time due to a dissolution of the duo’s partnership. Johnson bows out.

October: At the Louvre, a former Reno department store clerk, Joe Mitchell, cashes some checks, for which he has no money.

1906

March: C.J. Miller, who previously owned the International Hotel in Nevada’s Virginia City, joins Stout in managing the Louvre’s gambling.

“The change is of interest to Reno and Nevada sporting circles on account of the prominent part taken by the new owners in square games,” reported the Nevada State Journal (March 30, 1906).

This quote suggests someone was operating crooked games at the Louvre. It may have been Johnson, given the local newspaper described him once as “the ‘smooth’ man of the Louvre” and given he stepped down seemingly over a disagreement with Stout (Reno Evening Gazette, Aug. 11, 1905).

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* The Louvre ended its run in 1939 when it became the Martin Hotel Bar.

** In 1900, Nevada allowed some forms of gambling, only these games: faro; monte; lansquenet/rouge et noir; keno; fantan; 21; Diana; stud poker; red, white and blue; and banking games (ones in which there is a fund against which all players may bet). Per state law at the time, any and all commercial gambling had to be conducted in an establishment’s back room(s) so that passersby out front wouldn’t see, through the windows, the action inside. State legislators amended this statute in 1903 (see ***).

*** The new version of law required that gambling establishments in more populous Nevada counties (in which at least 2,000 votes had been cast in the previous general election) confine games of chance to their location’s second floor.

Sources

Nevada was to cease all gambling operations and activity by midnight September 30, 1910* per a new law, already passed.** The final night, a Friday, was unlike any other before.

“Nevada is determined to be good, even if the last remnant of the old west, in which the Brooklyn and Westchester school of fiction writers find rich color, has to go,” according to a Reno news story appearing in the Seymour Daily Republican (June 27, 1910).

Strange Ambiance

The air was electric on Commercial Row, the center of activity in Reno, the state’s largest metropolis at the time, but heightened emotions were palpable. Many residents and visitors lamented the impending end of an era and future chances to win big. Apprehension, even fear, gripped those who made their living in the industry. A piece of black crepe wrapped around the roulette wheel’s nickel and spindle represented the dealers’ grief. Among those opposed to gambling, a sense of triumph dominated.

People Everywhere

The sidewalks were awash with people, adults and children, residents and visitors, honest and dishonest, many wanting to take advantage of this last opportunity. Many wanted to see the inside of a casino and maybe even try their luck at a game. Cheaters wanted to ply their trade while they could.

“It seemed that the entire population of Reno, augmented by that of Sparks and other nearby communities, was abroad,” reported the Reno Evening Gazette (REG) (Oct. 1, 1910). “They had foregathered to witness a spectacle.”

One Big Party

The three big Reno clubs still open — the Louvre, Casino and Palace — were packed, not only with men but, in a rare sight, women, too, not just divorcées but also ladies who’d never set foot in such an establishment before. Many patrons drank at the bar. The crowds around the gaming tables were about nine people deep. Lots of men feverishly tried for a windfall even though the gambling operators imposed a $5 or $10 maximum bet.

“Few were content with seeing the play, most gambled away all they had, and borrowed right and left as the fever caught them,” reported the Nevada State Journal (NSJ) (Oct. 1, 1910). “Suckers were given a free rein, nothing was refused them, and scores who had saved their money for a fling at chance on the last night were ‘trimmed’ of their all in a few turns.”

The gambling clubs were amply staffed with spotters, guards and special officers to prevent a raid or robbery. That didn’t stop the Harmony Kid, however, from taking the Casino for $500 (about $13,000 today).

The majority of women departed the clubs at 7 p.m. due to a city ordinance forbidding their presence in any casino after that hour. Men, on the other hand, continued their feverish quest to get rich quick. By 9 p.m., one had to fight their way to a table to place a wager.

Unexpectedly, the concluding two weeks of Nevada gambling were the “dullest in the history of the game here,” the NSJ reported.

Closing For Good

Nevada locales outside of Reno had shut down their gambling earlier in the week — Carson City on Wednesday; Goldfield and Tonopah on Thursday; and Elko, Fallon, Winnemucca and other towns early on Friday.

That same Friday, Reno’s final closures began about 11:45 p.m. with the Casino. There, Detective John Hillhouse announced from a tabletop that no more cards would be turned, no more dice would be thrown, no more balls would be rolled and no more drinks would be served. He encouraged patrons to quickly and quietly make their way to the door.

About five minutes later, the Louvre manager stood on the bar and, struggling to be heard over the din of the mass of people, announced the time had come.

Finally, at 11:55 p.m., the Palace followed suit but with the added touch of a toast to this sentiment: “The games are closed. Here’s hopin’ they’ll never open” (REG).

Gambling No More

When midnight came, “the death knell of gambling, at least the legitimized sort” sounded in Nevada and, thus, the U.S. as a whole. “The tiger was veiled.”

Immediately after, as the NSJ described, “Instead of the crowded houses, with the balls clicking inside and the lights and gaiety, with talking machines tilling the air with a medley of noises, there was only a quiet street, with the saloon fronts beaming light.”

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* Existing gambling licenses expired on September 30, 1910, the final day of the third quarter.

** This was the first time gambling was abolished in the state of Nevada (since 1865 when it joined the Union). It, was, however, banned in 1864 when Nevada was a territory. Between 1864 and 1909, certain games and types of gambling were legalized at various times.

Sources