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1910 Nevada was to cease all gambling operations and activity by midnight September 30, 1910* per a new law, already passed.** The final night, a Friday, was unlike any other before. “Nevada is determined to…
\ “Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks.” That statement not only applied to Felix the Cat but also held true for many gambling cheaters during the 19th…
1977-1979 As Mark Estes, 28, played blackjack at a table in Nevada’s Las Vegas Hilton casino one day, he counted the cards. This involved remembering the cards dealt during each game and using a mathematical…
In addition to Alphonse (“Al”/”Scarface”) Capone, a handful of men separately involved in illegal gambling in the States wound up confined in the United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island for another crime. The maximum security, federal…
This gambling history blog post discusses four famous boxers and their involvement with casino-related enterprises in the 1900s, in Mexico and Nevada. Learn more here.
Hi Fabulous Subscribers, We hope you’re all doing super well! This note is to let you know we’re changing the service we use to automatically e-mail you It Really Happened! blog posts as they’re published.…
1958-1962 With their involvement in Nevada casinos behind them, Silver State residents, Clifford “Cliff” A. Jones and Jacob “Jake” Kozloff, together accrued a string of gambling enterprises in and around South America. Who They Were…
Though its popularity declined since its heyday, panguingue rightfully earned a place in United States gambling history. Great, but what the heck is it? Panguingue, or pan for short, is a rummy-type gambling card game.…
1932-1941 The original owners of The Tavern in Reno planned to open it on Nevada Day (October 31) in 1932, but the economic downturn in the state, caused by The Great Depression, forced them to…
1941 In the wee Sunday morning hours of May 4, employees closed The Tavern after a busy Saturday night of patrons gambling, dining and dancing to live music. The place was bereft of people except…
1936 Gambling disputes ending in someone’s death typically involved men, were over alleged cheating and happened at saloons or other enterprises offering games of chance. However, the circumstances behind the 1936 case of Paul F.…
1935 Hollywood movie studios released more than a handful of gambling-related movies in 1935. This seemed unusual given the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America’s (MPPDA) recent re-commitment to ensuring movies didn’t contain content…