1936

An $11,800 gambling win (about $205,000 today) was the largest ever in Las Vegas to that point. The payout went to a man named A. “Blacksmith” Sweitzer after playing 21 (blackjack) for two hours, starting with a $5 wager.

“He ran a series of five phenomenal blackjack hands, in which he showed two ‘blackjacks’ — an ace and a face card — and drew ‘21’ to two ‘11-splits,’” the Nevada State Journal reported. “He bet $250 on each hand.”

Photo from freeimages.com: “Blackjack2” by Tracy Scott-Murray

One of many kinds of holdouts, this is a Jacob’s Ladder type for the arm

1938

During a preliminary hearing on the felony charge of using a cheating device while playing cards at a Las Vegas gambling house, Walter Eccles of Los Angeles explained that he’d used a holdout worn on his arm for “protection against a crooked gambling game” (Nevada State Journal, April 24, 1938).