casino history Archives

Allen Smiley Club Savoy (Las Vegas, NV) Games / Races: Craps It Really Happened Jack Durant Louis "Russian Louie" Strauss Norman Khoury

Dirty Dealings in Las Vegas

1949-1953 Only months after Cleveland bar owner, Norman Khoury’s 1949 acquisition of Club Savoy in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allen Smiley, an associate of the then-deceased Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, unexpectedly approached him. He introduced Khoury to…

Gambling: Shills It Really Happened Quick Facts Sin City

Quick Fact – Preacher Shill

1958 Reverend Maurice D. Tulloch, 50, a Kansas man, gave up his Baptist ministry for shilling in a Nevada casino. Feeling as though his life was suffocating him, a month earlier he’d walked out of…

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…

Australia Did You Know? Quick Facts United Kingdom United States

Quick Fact – Slots Semantics

Today In the U.S. we call them slot machines and one-armed bandits. In Australia, they’re pokies. People in the United Kingdom call them fruit machines, or fruities. Other names? Photo from freeimages.com: by Tijmen van…

Casino: Financings: Reno Arch Club Primadonna (Reno, NV) Colony Club (Reno, NV) Horseshoe Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Poor Pete's (Reno, NV)

Out With The Passé

1926-present By 1963, major casino owners in Reno, Nevada thought the downtown fixture was outdated and ugly compared to their modern buildings on Virginia Street. They even offered to pay for it and its maintenance for…

Gambling It Really Happened Nevada Politicians / Politics: Elections Politicians / Politics: Richard Nixon Politicians / Politics: U.S. President John F. Kennedy Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Political Bets

1960 Bookies throughout Nevada had been taking wagers right and left on who’d win the upcoming U.S. presidential election — Senator John F. Kennedy (Dem.) or Vice President Richard Nixon (Rep.). Suddenly, in November, they…

Bluebell Girls Dunes (Las Vegas, NV) El Rancho Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Entertainment Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: NV Attorney General Roger Foley

Bare Bosom Brouhaha

1958-1961 The debut of topless showgirls in Las Vegas roused disapproval — not surprising given it occurred early in the “Leave it to Beaver” era. The Stardust was the first to abandon bras and tops,…

Did You Know? Gambling Games / Races: Poker It Really Happened Quick Facts Steamboat Springs (Reno, Nevada) Virginia City--Nevada

Quick Fact – Steamboat Springs

1860s & 1870s In Virginia City, Nevada’s heyday, gold miners and magnates alike sought out R&R — gambling, hot springs soaking and dining — at the nearby Steamboat Springs resort south of Reno, a stop…

Gambling Iowa It Really Happened Minnesota Politicians / Politics: IA Governor Clyde Herring Politicians / Politics: MN Governor Floyd Olson

Ante Up Your Pig

1935 When two United States state governors made a friendly bet, neither knew it would become problematic. They wagered each other their state would win the upcoming football rivalry between the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a…

California Did You Know? Gambling Gambling: Shills Games / Races: Poker Gardena--California Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Shill Losses

1952 When Ernest J. Primm owned the Monterey Club, a poker house in Gardena, California (a Los Angeles suburb), he claimed on his state income taxes the losses of his shills, up to $500 ($4,500 today) a…

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…

Gambling Games / Races: Poker Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened The Ramada Hotel Casino (Reno, NV) United States Virginia City--Nevada

The Faro Fadeaway

1825-1958 The hottest game in the Old West between 1825 and 1915, faro is pretty much extinct in the United States today. If you’ve never heard of it — and you aren’t alone there —…