Quick Fact – Store Slots
1967 Nevada legislators proposed a bill that would disallow any future installation of slot machines in grocery and drug stores, but it died in the Senate Taxation Committee.
Quick Fact – Lingerie Caper
1966 A 34-year-old 21 dealer at a Crystal Bay Club Casino at Lake Tahoe slipped $100 worth of gambling chips into her bra each day for a week before getting caught. Once busted, she accepted…
California
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambler (Operators/Players): Donation
Gambling History
Gaming History
Los Angeles-California
Quick Facts
Rex (offshore, Southern CA)
Tony Cornero / Antonio Cornero Stralla
United States
Quick Fact – Tainted v. Pure Money
1938 Gambler Tony Cornero Stralla offered to donate a day’s worth of revenue from his Southern California casino boat, the Rex, to Zoo Park at 3800 Mission Road in Los Angeles. The attraction, then owned/operated…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Events: Seattle World's Fair / Century 21 Exposition
Gambling
Gambling Currency
Gambling Currency: Pseudo Coins / Slugs
Gambling History
Gaming History
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – The Right Size
1962 After the Seattle World’s Fair, or the Century 21 Exposition, the bronze coins used as trade dollars during that event appeared in slot machines throughout Nevada.
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Gaming History
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Lido de Paris
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – The Nude is Falling
1969-1971 Patron Alvin Glasky sat in the Stardust hotel-casino’s showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada, watching Lido de Paris on a Saturday evening in 1969. As one of the topless showgirls was being lowered from the…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling History
Gambling: Equipment
Games / Races: Roulette
Gaming History
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Oops! They Don’t Match
1931 After a brand new roulette setup was put in use at a Las Vegas, Nevada casino, it was discovered the number 28 was black on the wheel, as it should be, but red on…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Gaming History
Harolds Club (Reno, NV)
Nevada
Quick Facts
Raymond "Pappy" I. Smith
Raymond A. Smith
Sparks--Nevada
United States
Quick Fact – Party Palace
1950-1979 The Harolds Club casino, in Reno, Nevada, held an annual winter holiday party for employees at its Harolds Trapshooting Club in the neighboring town of Sparks, on the Pyramid Highway. The fêtes, which featured dancing,…
California
Casino History
Chico Marx
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder
Did You Know?
Gambling History
George "Les" Bruneman
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Cavalier Comic
1937 A $2,000 check signed “Chico Marx” (about $34,600 today) was found in the pocket of Los Angeles gambler/bookmaker George “Les” Bruneman upon his murder carried out by a couple of Southern California Mafia hitmen.…
Casino History
Casino: Takeovers
Did You Know?
Europe
Events: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention Concert
Gambling History
Gaming History
Montreux Casino (Montreux, Switzerland)
Montreux--Switzerland
Quick Facts
Quick Fact – Inspired by Life
1971 The sight of Switzerland’s Montreux Casino burning down on December 4, 1971 was the inspiration for Deep Purple’s hit song, Smoke on the Water. A fan firing a flare gun during a Frank Zappa…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling History
Gambling: Win / Jackpot
Gaming History
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Pure Luck
1952 “One of the members of the Journal news staff stopped in at a [Reno, Nevada] casino one night last week, put a nickel in a slot machine and hit the jackpot. The attendant came…
Alcatraz (CA)
Alphonse "Al/Scarface" Capone
California
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling History
Gaming History
Quick Facts
The Rock Islanders
United States
Quick Fact – A Renaissance Convict?
1934-1938 While doing time at Alcatraz, Alphonse “Scarface” Capone, infamous Chicago organized crime boss heavily involved in gambling, played the banjo and mandola (a large mandolin) in the prison band, The Rock Islanders, a rotating…
Casino History
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Owning Gold
Did You Know?
Gambling
Gambling Currency: Coins--Gold
Gambling History
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Last to Hear
1940 “Apparently unaware that gold has been forbidden as a medium of exchange, a tall, dark complexioned cowpuncher walked into a [Reno, Nevada] gambling club last night and startled the dealer by casually dropping a…