1905

A Las Vegas, Nevada newspaper commented on the increasing popularity of gambling among ladies:

“Gambling made fashionable among women is a rather serious matter. It is bad enough among men, but when the mania extends to women, who are held tighter in its grasp, the moralist has special reason to fear the consequences” (Las Vegas Age, May 13, 1905).

Chuck-a-luck cage

Today/1888

A “tinhorn gambler,” according to several dictionaries, refers to a game of chance operator who pretends to have money, ability or influence. The phrase is said to come from people who set up chuck-a-luck games with few funds and a cheap metal (versus leather) chute, called a horn — individuals whom faro dealers disparaged as being petty.

Yet, a 1908 Las Vegas Age article explains that “tin horn gambler” describes a player rather than operator, a low roller specifically, and originated in 1888 by Honorable James Orndorff who, while dealing in a gambling house on the Comstock Lode, told a patron betting small amounts, “You’re cheaper than a tin horn.”