Spindle Tricksters Clean Up
1906 A sextet of flimflammers arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in December, set up at the corner of Main and Fremont Streets and began separating the locals from their money. ” … the spindle was…
Boulder Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Casino: Proposed
Exchange Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Gambling History
Gambling License
Games / Races
Games / Races: Craps
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: City of Las Vegas (NV)
It Really Happened
Las Vegas Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Meadows (Las Vegas, NV)
Nevada
Northern Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Northern Saloon (Las Vegas, NV)
Red Rooster (Las Vegas, NV)
United States
Lawsuit: It’s Not Fair!
1931 Soon after Governor Frederic “Fred” B. Balzar approved wide-open gambling for Nevada, three men applied for an initial gambling license from the City of Las Vegas to operate a craps game at Lorenzi’s Lake…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
Nevada
Quick Facts
Riviera (Las Vegas, NV)
Tony Martin
United States
Quick Fact – Application Red Flags
1960-1961 Singer Tony Martin applied for a gambling license to acquire a 2 percent interest for $50,000 ($410,000 today) in the Riviera hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Investigation into his background revealed he’d served two days…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Games / Races: Bingo
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Detrimental Game of Chance
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…
Casino History
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gambling: Prizes
Games / Races: Tango
Gaming History
Nevada
Quick Facts
United States
Quick Fact – Bonus of Hosiery
1946 Some Las Vegas, Nevada casinos handed out women’s nylons as slot machine and tango game* prizes. When the city’s board of commissioners found out, they banned it, threatening repeat offenders with losing their gambling…
Basin Street (Reno, NV)
Casino History
Ethnic Groups: Asians
Gambling
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
George Chin
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission
Harry Chon
It Really Happened
Nevada
Old Cathay Club (Reno, NV)
United States
The Big Squeeze at Reno Casino
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…
Casino History
Casino: Takeovers
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Nevada
The Den (Reno, NV)
United States
Casino Owners in Combustible Predicament
1949-1950 The Den opened its doors in spring 1949. The proprietors — Donald A. Bentley, John R. Hope and Robert M. Colahan — likely were hoping for at least as long a run as their…
Casino History
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Nevada
United States
Winnemucca--Nevada
How Do I Cheat? Let Me Count the Ways (Part II)
1958-1959 (Part I ran last week. If you missed it, it’s available here.) The Nevada Tax Commission withdrew the gambling license of the New Star casino’s operators — Brent Mackie and Kenneth Henton — in July…
Big Hat (Las Vegas, NV)
Casino History
Crimes / Violence / Punishment: Duel
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms
Gambling
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
It Really Happened
Nevada
Sam Baker
United States
The Duel at Big Hat
1948 Arthur T. Morgan belligerently stormed into the Big Hat casino on Highway 91 (outside Las Vegas, Nevada) at about 1:30 a.m. on a Friday night in spring. He immediately began heckling, threatening to shoot…
Casino History
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder
Gambling History
Gambling Laws / Regulations: NV Regulation 25
Gambling License
Gambling: Junkets
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
Hawaii
It Really Happened
Nevada
United States
Crooks Exploit Gambling Junkets
1969-present When executives of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada hosted 12 people from Kansas City in 1969 as part of a gambling junket, it unexpectedly backfired. When their guests, after four days at the…
Gambling
Gambling Laws / Regulations: NV Anti-Lottery Law
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Opportunity Club (Reno, NV)
The Chain Letter Of The Law
1935 Although it was a Ponzi scheme, its lure of big money was too strong for many Renoites to resist. One chain letter business, the Opportunity Club, popped up overnight as part of the nationwide…
Emigrant Pass
Ernest Dennison
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: NV Police Superintendent Lester C. Moody
Nevada
Politicians / Politics: NV Attorney General Alan Bible
Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Vail Pittman
Roadside Zoos (Nevada)
Too Cozy With Illegal Gamblers
1948 A real or perceived protective relationship with illegal gambling operators got Nevada Police Superintendent Lester C. Moody fired. Governor Vail Pittman, who’d appointed Moody to the position two years before, terminated him in May…