Silver Slipper, 1950s

1956

The gambling licensees of the Dunes and Silver Slipper casinos applied to restart bingo on the premises, but the Nevada Gaming Commission denied their request, stating that the return of the game to the Las Vegas Strip would be detrimental to the area.

This was because in prior years when bingo had been permitted, the competition had gotten out of hand and the ample prize money had drawn so many people, it had created traffic problems.

Token from the Old Cathay Club, a casino, restaurant and bar open in the mid-1950s in Reno, Nevada

1955-1966

Harry Chon, licensed operator of the gambling operations at the Old Cathay Club* in Reno, Nevada, found himself in an uncomfortable spot, under pressure from two parties, in 1956.

The story begins about a year earlier, when two other men, Horace Fong and his godfather, Moon Wah, applied unsuccessfully for a gambling license for the same property. Of the two, only Wah had casino experience, and he’d been convicted recently of tax evasion in California.

Soon after, Fong re-applied — this time with Chon named as the co-licensee — but to no avail because the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) deemed Fong unsuitable, likely due to his relationship with Wah.

Then Chon alone sought and was granted a gambling license to lease space from Fong and run a casino in it. Fong operated the other entities on the property, a restaurant and bar.

Rumblings Then Temblor

In spring 1957, the NGCB heard rumors that individuals other than Chon were running the gambling at the Old Cathay. It was verboten to change casino interests without approval first from gaming regulators, so agents investigated.

Chon confided in them he’d hired a man named Fred Down to manage the casino, but Down did what he (Down) wanted and had brought in George Chinn to be the pit boss, despite Chon having urged him not to. Chon also admitted he, himself:

• Lacked access to the safe as Down had the combination
• Didn’t know how much the house’s bankroll contained from day to day
• Didn’t have any say over hiring or firing employees

The NGCB cited Chon on five counts:

• Transferring interest to an unlicensed person
• Permitting concealed interests in the club
• Misrepresenting on his license application the casino’s financial structure
• Improperly maintaining the bankroll
• Unsatisfactorily conducting business

The board ordered Chon to explain in person why he should be allowed to keep his license. In the interim, he voluntarily shuttered the Old Cathay casino, on March 15, to remove some of the people associated with it, he said.

Testimony Given

At the hearing, Chon relayed a different story, perhaps because Fong, Down and Chinn also were there. He denied telling anyone he lacked control over his club and the workers and that Down wouldn’t do what he said. Chon claimed it was his choice to not have the safe combination because he tended to spend money when he consumed too much alcohol.

However, he did concede to having expressed his concerns about Chinn to Down. (Chinn had had a run-in with the state some years prior when it was discovered he’d held a secret interest in the Yukon Club in Reno.) Chon said Down’s response had been that he and Chinn were friends but he’d take care of it later.

Chon explained he’d often traveled to and from San Francisco and spent three days a week there where he oversaw a grocery store.

Also, he vehemently denied that he’d allowed unlicensed parties to operate the casino, specifically Fong, Down and/or Chinn, or that he’d abandoned his gambling permit.

Fong and Chinn attested to not holding any interest in the Old Cathay Club.

The NGCB’s auditor testified that Chon had initially signed the casino checks but within a month of opening the doors, Down had assumed the task. He noted Chon had contributed $18,000 to the bankroll, but it hadn’t been recorded in the club’s accounting records.

It seems some bad characters had used Chon, without his knowledge, as a front man for the Old Cathay Club then took over.

The NGCB Rules

In May, pursuant to the testimony provided at the proceeding and their own findings, the board members determined that Chon:

• Hadn’t, willingly at least, allowed any transfer of interest in the casino, but they strongly doubted he truly controlled it
• Hadn’t allowed a concealed interest in the gambling house
• Hadn’t misrepresented information on his license application
• Had funded the bankroll via loans, but against the rules, the transactions hadn’t been recorded
• Had improperly maintained the bankroll and admitted he couldn’t control it
• Had conducted the business unacceptably

Consequently, the agents unanimously agreed Chon was unfit for a gambling license and, therefore, recommended it be revoked. In agreement, the tax commission pulled it.

Chinn Goes For It

With Chon out, Chinn, already on the NGCB’s radar as being shady, applied for a gambling permit in June to run the casino at the Old Cathay but under the name, California Club, noting he would invest $42,000 in it.

As expected, regulators denied the license because of “unsatisfactory past operation” (Nevada State Journal, June 27, 1957).

Chon, Take Two

Fast forward six years. Chon, who had his gambling license taken away, applied to have it reinstated. That time it was for Basin Street, a casino at 246 N. Lake Street, also in Reno. NGCB agents decided to give him another chance, as his prior infractions hadn’t been egregious and he’d closed his casino voluntarily before any state action. They voted 2 to 1 to give him one on a six-month conditional basis.

Chon ran that gambling house for two and a half years.

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* The Old Cathay Club previously had been called Confucius and before that, the Lido Bar. It was located at 222 Lake Street in Reno (now a parking lot across from Greater Nevada Field).

Sources

Sandra Giles

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 to pose for the piece for renowned artist, Philip Paval.

During the hotel’s grand opening, the piece of art was unveiled. It showed the voluptuous Giles nude, lying provocatively on her back with gambling chips scattered on and around her body.

“I don’t want to be a Marilyn Monroe! I want to be an actress. I didn’t pose that way! I wore a bathing suit,” the blonde 22-year-old yelled.

Giles slapped Paval then Davis. The painting’s debut had unexpectedly evolved into a jackpot for the roughly 100 news people there covering it.

Paval explained that, yes, Giles’ intimate body parts had been covered during the sitting, so he’d used his imagination and artistic license to render her naked.

An irate Giles sued the Fremont and Paval for $250,000, claiming she’d suffered “mental anguish” and “humiliation” when the picture was revealed.  She later claimed the attention she’d garnered from it led to her breakup with boyfriend, Harold Lloyd, Jr., a famous actor and singer.

The story was reported nationwide and even made the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

About three weeks later, the Fremont’s president, Ed Levinson, paid Giles $15,000 in silver dollars during a news conference as settlement. (Paval had received $2,500 for creating the piece.)

This outlandish sequence of events, though, had been a stunt that Davis dreamed up and staged and Giles, Paval and Levinson had been in on. This scoop came out years later in the brief biography, “From Hooker to Hollywood,” by Michael Piller.

Sources

1956

As revelers welcomed the new year at the Sands hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, management gave every guest (an estimated 18,000 of them) a brand new silver dollar. Additionally, they gifted each of the 700 women in the showroom a satin bag filled with 25 silver dollars. ‘

That’s a total giveaway of $35,500 (a $311,000 value today)!

Photo from freeimages.com

1956

She wouldn’t budge. C. Johnson was playing a slot machine from a stool that was blocking the aisle in a downtown Reno, Nevada casino.

When employees asked the Oakland, California resident to please shift a bit so others could pass, she adamantly refused. They offered to move the game to a spot with a wider berth; she said no. They called a fireman to the club, who informed her she was violating city fire regulations. She stayed put.

Eventually, she was taken to the city jail and booked on interfering with an officer and resisting arrest. She threatened that all those involved in her arrest would get fired and she’d sue the city.

Well, she failed to show in court for her arraignment, forfeiting her $75 bail ($670 today).

Photo from freeimages: “ Slot Machine Closeup” by William Wynn

El Rancho in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s

1956

When auditors for Nevada reviewed its books, they discovered the El Rancho casino on the Las Vegas Strip had underpaid the requisite gambling taxes over nine quarters by $39,000 ($350,500 today).

Despite the claims of owners Beldon Katleman, et. al. that they believed they’d paid the proper amount, tax commissioners assessed a 100% penalty, the largest ever in Silver State history up to that date.

Rather than fight the issue, the El Rancho forked over the tax and the fine, $78,000 ($701,000 today).