gaming history Archives

Clara Bow Elmer "Bones" F. Remmer Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened Nevada

Hollywood Sex Symbol’s Missteps

1930 Silent film star, Clara Bow, spent one September evening in 1930 playing illegal gambling games at a Lake Tahoe, Nevada casino. Both winning and losing at roulette, craps, 21 and the dice game, chuck-a-luck,…

Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Tips Taxable

1976 The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California ruled any tips, or tokes, that individuals give to casino dealers is a form of taxable income. Photo from freeimages.com: “Batch of Dollars” by…

Gambling Gambling: Shills Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board It Really Happened Nevada Rolo Casino (Reno, NV)

Gambling Decoys: Shills, Proposition Players

1947-1979 “Neat appearing girls from 21 to 25 to shill and learn to deal games at Rolo Casino, 14 E. Commercial Row,” read a Help Wanted ad in the Nevada State Journal (June 6, 1947). A shill,…

Gambling Gambling Currency: Coins Games / Races: Panguingue Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Tonk It Really Happened Nevada

Gambling in the Pokey

1932-1967 Inmates strutted around the Nevada State Prison yard and jingled the brass coins or tokens, in their pockets, to boast their elevated status as winning gamblers of the pen. Beginning in 1932, convicts ran…

Cuba Did You Know? Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Cuban Right

1958 To crush subversive or revolutionary activity, Cuban President Fulgencio Batista suspended for 45 days all constitutional guarantees in the country, including the right to public assembly. Yet, he allowed gambling operations to continue. Photo…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Cuba Events: World War II Games / Races: Dog Racing Games / Races: Horse Racing It Really Happened Mexico Nevada United States

WWII: Impact on Nevada’s Gambling

1944-1945 In the final year of World War II, three related mandates hampered Nevada’s gambling clubs, but, in general, casinos willingly withstood the hits out of a sense of patriotic duty. These directives, imposed by…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – He Who Cheats First …

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…

Casino History Casino: Bankruptcies Casino: Corporations: Club Cal-Neva Inc. Casino: Corporations: Spinning Wheel Corp. Clifford Jones Club Cal-Neva (Reno, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Earl Snyder Gambling History Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service It Really Happened James "Jim" Contratto Joe Wells Marion Hicks Nevada Saddle Club (Las Vegas, NV) Sanford Adler Silver Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Tahoe Biltmore (Crystal Bay, NV) United States

IRS Swoops Down on Casino Cash

1955-1956 At 9:15 a.m. on Friday, November 11, 1955, eight U.S. IRS agents entered the Club Cal-Neva in Reno, Nevada, demanding payment of $65,000 (about $600,000 today) in overdue withholding and excise taxes. When the…

Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts Stateline--Nevada

Quick Fact – Cattle Drive

1963 Because another route wasn’t available, in August, ranchers drove more than 200 cattle through the casino section of Stateline, Nevada, located at Lake Tahoe’s South Shore, en route to the bovines’ summer range in the…

Cal Vada (Lake Tahoe, NV) Cal-Neva Lodge (Lake Tahoe, NV) Games / Races: Bingo Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission It Really Happened Nevada

Casinos in Bingo Trouble

1954 A brouhaha over bingo made it a memorable year for gambling at Lake Tahoe. To lure as many tourists as possible into their casinos, numerous operators offered big-ticket prizes for winners at summer’s end…

Did You Know? Games / Races: Roulette Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Wheel Woods

Early 1900s Manufacturer B.C. Wills & Co. crafted roulette wheels out of one or more woods — boxwood, ebony, rosewood, walnut, Honduras mahogany or satin wood — that were seasoned and kiln dried in a…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Francis Leo Luckett Gambler (Operators/Players): Card Sharps Gambling History Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada Tip Club (Reno, NV) United States

Ace of Spades Defeats Card Sharp

1930 Cheating at gambling in the early 20th century in Nevada could land a person in serious trouble. That’s exactly what happened to Francis Leo Luckett, 28. A Pennsylvania native, he’d been in Reno by…