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"Casino" Casino History Frank Sinatra Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission It Really Happened Joe Pesci Nevada Restaurants / Chefs Restaurants / Chefs: Anjoe's -- Las Vegas, NV Restaurants / Chefs: Joseph "Joe the Cook" Pignatello Restaurants / Chefs: Villa d'Este -- Las Vegas, NV Sam Baker The Outfit (Chicago, IL) United States

No Gambling License For You!

1961-1990s “As a boy in Chicago, [he] learned to cook standing on a milk crate in his mom’s kitchen, where Mrs. Capone — Scarface Al’s mom — would join them,” reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Guys and Dolls musical Liberace Mario Lanza Nevada Quick Facts Sin City United States Vivian Blaine

Quick Fact – Off, Off, Off Broadway

1955 At least 10 hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offered entertainment, typically marquee names like Liberace and Mario Lanza, who’d played Sin City time and again. The Royal Nevada, though, changed it up with a…

Casino History Chico Marx Commercial Hotel/Monte Carlo Casino (Elko, NV) Did You Know? Elko--Nevada Entertainment Gambling History Gaming History Lawrence Welk Nevada Newton Crumley Paul Whiteman Quick Facts Sophie Tucker Ted Lewis The Andrews Sisters United States

Quick Fact – Casino Trendsetter

1941 Nevada casinos are known for their big-name entertainment, and it all started in the city of Elko. In spring 1941, Newton Crumley, the owner of the Commercial Hotel and its Monte Carlo Casino, engaged…

Did You Know? Edie Adams Ernie Kovacs Gambling Games / Races: Poker Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – A Splurge For a Splurge

1954-1962 Each time her husband, Ernie Kovacs, lost big at poker, actress Edie Adams bought herself a chinchilla coat or antique harpsichord. When the bills for those purchases arrived, he’d say, “We can’t afford this!”…

Did You Know? Elvis Presley Entertainment Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Good Luck Charm

1969 Elvis Presley was one of the first headliners at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. His performances began a record-breaking run of 837 sold-out shows at the spot over the ensuing seven years. In his…

Connie Stevens Did You Know? Incline Village--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Stevens’ Jewelry

1970 When Connie Stevens, entertainer, departed after a stay at the Kings Castle hotel-casino in Incline Village, Nevada, she accidentally left $20,000 ($122,000 today) worth of jewelry in her suite. Linda Cooley, a housekeeping team…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Suicide Gambling It Really Happened John Steinbeck Newell Benningfield West Indies Club (Reno, NV)

Mrs. John Steinbeck’s Tale of Woe

1948-1950 Tragedy struck when the wife of famed American novelist, John Steinbeck, was in Reno, Nevada for a quickie divorce from him after 5½ years of marriage. In 1948, while establishing residency in The Biggest…

Artists / Designers: Philip Paval Edward "Ed" Levinson Fremont Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Marilyn Monroe Nevada Publicity Stunts / Promotions / Advertisements Sandra Giles

The Lady Of Chance … Au Naturel

1956 The Fremont in Las Vegas commissioned a large oil painting that depicted a “lady of chance” to grace a wall in its casino. The hotel’s press agent, Shelly Davis, asked aspiring actress Sandra Giles…

Did You Know? Entertainment Ethnic Groups: African Americans International Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas Hilton (Las Vegas, NV) Natalie Cole Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Natalie Cole

1976 Natalie Cole made her Nevada performance debut at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino (formerly the International Hotel) on a double bill with Bill Cosby in April.

Frank Sinatra Gambling Games / Races: Baccarat Howard Hughes It Really Happened

Frank Sinatra’s Hissy Fits

1967 & 1970 Apparently, the beloved crooner had a temper, which he sometimes unleashed when casino operators denied him additional, excessive amounts of credit when gambling. In one instance when Frank Sinatra lost control, he…

Dennis Day Entertainment It Really Happened Myrton "Mert" Wertheimer Publicity Stunts / Promotions / Advertisements

Now, That’s A Publicity Stunt

1951 The Irish tenor, Dennis Day, was about to begin a singing engagement at downtown Reno’s Riverside hotel in the summer of 1951. Day is known for his appearances on the Jack Benny comedy show…

"Pop Goes the Weasel (Lady Cocoa)" Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Lady Cocoa

1975 The blaxploitation thriller, Lady Cocoa (also titled Pop Goes the Weasel), was filmed in Northern Nevada. It starred singer-dancer Lola Folana, former San Francisco 49er Gene Washington and former Pittsburgh Steeler Joe Green, The…