it really happened

Faro Breeds Cunning Card Sharps En Masse

1700s-1950s Faro stands out in U.S. gambling history. The imported card game dominated the industry here for a long time, about 100 years. “Tiger” was the country’s favorite gambling pastime during the 1800s, though played…

Place For a Roaring Good Time

1949 The Smiths, who owned and operated Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada appropriately named their casino Roaring Camp. Generally, a roaring camp was “a gold-prospecting camp characterized by wild behavior, unrestrained drinking and gambling,” according…

10 Intriguing Facts About Mob Tied Gambler Sam Termini

1928-1972 Samuel “Sam” F. Termini (1903-1972) was known as a small-time racketeer who worked at and operated gambling enterprises mostly for others. Here are 10 interesting tidbits about him and his life: Gambling History 1)…

Hate When That Happens

1934 A man named Hans Brucksmer played about $15 worth of nickels (about $300 today) in a slot machine at a place of business in Seattle, Washington and got only four coins back. He lifted…

It Took Just One

1936 A single penny got Los Angeles store owner Ethel Jamison convicted. One day at her shop, Police Officer James Mulligan placed a penny in the slot machine, pulled the lever, received a penny premium…

U.S. Runs Gambling House in Nevada

1913-1915 Circumstances of a lawsuit in the U.S. led to an unusual occurrence, even for Nevada: the federal government taking over and running a Silver State casino. It was The Big Casino, a combination casino,…

Series: Car Blast Victim Tied to Gambling, Part II

1936 Gambler Leo Barnes and his wife had only been in Denver, Colorado for about six months, having moved from Kansas City, Missouri. On the night of Dec. 8, the couple got in their car…

Mobster Avoids Trial With Clever Scheme

1943-1944 Had it not been for a shifty plan Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo and/or his attorney, George Bieber dreamed up, the Mobster might’ve gone to prison at age 37, in 1944, for illegal gambling. Cigar Store…

Bosa Bros.' Mobster Great Grandfather Involved in Gambling

1935-1965 Tony Accardo, né Antonino Leonardo Accardo (1906-1992), is credited with reviving and expanding the Chicago Outfit’s gambling business in the 1940s after the organization’s head Paul “The Waiter” Ricca named him underboss. Accardo himself…

An Offer That Was Refused

1953 Harrah’s in Reno, Nevada proposed, to event officials, the casino host an exhibit about gambling at the California State Fair. With a backdrop of silver dollars, the display was to contain gambling equipment and pamphlets…

Series: Car Blast Victim Tied to Gambling, Part I

1952 The life of wealthy, prominent businessman with several connections to the gambling industry, Thomas “Tom” A. Keen, 56, was abruptly ended at about 10:07 a.m. on Tuesday morning, February 5.  After giving some duck…

New Shill Doesn't Get It (Or Does He?)

1946 A Reno, Nevada casino hired a man, new to the city and gambling, as a shill. (A shill is paid to play games in a gambling house to entice others around to do the…