california history Archives

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…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Equipment: Seizures Gaming History It Really Happened Plumas County--California United States

The Illegal, Future-Telling Slot Machine Dilemma

1957 These fortunes and statements were what appeared in the display of a particular slot machine when one read the whole reel from left to right. Short three- to five-word phrases replaced the typical fruit…

California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Illegal Gaming History Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Los Angeles Chief of Police Charles E. Sebastian Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Vice Crusade Tactic

1913 As what the Los Angeles Times called the “the first sally in the greatest campaign that has ever been waged for the elimination of gambling” (April 7, 1913), Los Angeles Chief of Police Charles…

California Casino History Casino: Floating Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nick Licata Peter J. Milano San Fernando Valley--California United States

Los Angeles Mobster’s Gambling Ring

1971-1974 In 1971, various people began complaining to the local police department they’d gotten fleeced at an informal casino setup in California’s San Fernando Valley (yes, the location of, like, “valley girl” fame, a culture…

California Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Bucket Shopping Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit San Francisco--California

Bucket Shopper’s Dogged Fight

1911-1912 A San Francisco, California ordinance outlawed bucket shopping in 1911 — no longer was running or visiting such an enterprise legal — and one operator didn’t like it. Henry A. Moss, a bucket shop owner and…

Bakersfield--California California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Savings at all Costs

1933 When panhandling in Bakersfield, California, an Arthur J. Hayden received 25 cents ($4.70 today), which he took to a casino and parlayed into $690 ($13,000 today). The next day he grew his winnings to…

California Casino History Folsom State Prison (CA) Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened John Quinn Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada San Francisco--California United States

Gambler’s Wealth Meets Undue Fate

1924-1932 The story of the estate of a long-ago Nevada gambler after his passing is strange and unfortunate. John Quinn was a man who’d lost and made large fortunes in gambling and mining stock deals…

Bal Tabarin (Crystal Bay, NV) Bay Meadows Racetrack (San Mateo, CA) Bernard "Mooney" Einstoss California Casino History Defense Attorneys: Paul McCormick Del Mar Racetrack (Del Mar, CA) Gambler (Operators/Players): Minors Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Bookmaking Gambling: Parimutuel Games / Races: Horse Racing Gaming History Hollywood Park Racetrack (Inglewood, CA) Incline Village--Nevada It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Nevada Club (Reno, NV) Tanforan Racetrack (San Bruno, CA) United States

Nevada Casino Owner Fixes California Horse Races

1939-1941 Bernard “Bernie” Einstoss was a well-known gambler in Northern Nevada for nearly two decades, between 1947 and 1965.* Prior to that, he masterminded and executed a scheme to fix horse races** in California by…

California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Bookmaking Gambling: Raids Gaming History Pasadena--California Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Moonlighting Gig Heats Up

1948 When Pasadena, California vice squad officers got a tip that chef/restaurant owner Paul B. Weston, 56, was sidelining as an illegal bookie, they raided his home and found gambling paraphernalia — where else? —…

21 (El Cerrito, CA) California Casino History Contra Costa County--California David "Dave" Nathan Kessel El Cerrito--California Gambling History Gambling License Gambling: Bookmaking Gambling: Illegal Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission Hollywood (El Cerrito, CA) It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Federal Judge Louis E. Goodman Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee: Contempt of Congress Rancho San Pablo (El Cerrito, CA) The Wagon Wheel (El Cerrito, CA) United States Walter "Big Bill" Melburn Pechart

California Gamblers Snub Federal Inquiry

1950-1953 During the 1950 federal hearings on organized crime, two Northern California gamblers — Walter “Big Bill” Melburn Pechart and David “Dave” Nathan Kessel — were uncooperative, according to the questioners. They were Senators Estes…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishment: Drugs / Narcotics: Sales Crimes / Violence / Punishment: Drugs / Narcotics: Trafficking Ernest "Ole" C. Olson Eugene "Rosy" Bastida Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Douglas County Sheriff's Office--Nevada Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary (Leavenworth, KS) Nevada Salvatore "Tar Baby" Orester Terrano Ships Ships: USS Chaumont Stateline--Nevada Twin States (Stateline, NV) United States Waxey Gordon / Irving Wexler

Conviction Schmiction, Here’s a Gambling License

1930s-1952 Salvatore “Tar Baby” Orester Terrano is one of numerous criminals whom Nevada gambling regulators approved to own a casino in the state. In May 1947, the tax commission granted the Northern Californian, then 43,…

California Casino at Tallac (South Lake Tahoe, CA) Casino History Elias "Lucky" Jackson Baldwin Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Illegal Gaming History It Really Happened Nathaniel "Nat" Carl Goodwin South Lake Tahoe--California United States

Wealthy Californians Frequent Illegal Lake Tahoe Casino

1902-1927 Touted as “the finest clubhouse west of the Rocky Mountains,” the Casino at Tallac debuted at Lake Tahoe’s South Shore in California in July 1902 despite gambling having been illegal in the state since…