nevada history

Reno Mobsters Aid Gangster From Chicago, Raising Suspicions

1936 A man walked into the Greenleaf & Crosby jewelry store in New York’s Rockefeller Center at about 11 a.m. on Monday, January 6. Two others followed through the other entrance. “This is a stickup,”…

Mobster-Gambler Frank Frost Leaves Crime Trail in Chicago, Los Angeles, Reno

1906-1967 Frank “Frankie” Frost (1898-1967) spent about two decades working in Reno’s gambling scene and had close relationships with those in power locally, including gambler-Mobsters William “Bill/Curly” Graham and James “Jim/Cinch” McKay and banker and…

True Crime Book Set in Late 1940s' California and Nevada

Hi Subscribers, I’m excited to tell you I just released another book, The Ends. It’s in the true crime genre but does contain some gambling. Here’s a brief synopsis: Shortly after World War II, two 20-something…

Suspects in 1968 Bombing Death of Barney's Club Co-Owner Deceased

1968 On Aug. 27, 1968, a dynamite bomb rigged under his Cadillac’s floorboard caused the violent death of Richard “Dick” Louis Chartrand, 42, a co-owner of the Barney’s Club and South Tahoe Nugget casinos in…

Yesterday and Today: Collecting on Gambling Debts in Nevada

1864-1983 While being plied with endless, free whisky highballs,* Hamilton Buck played roulette for hours at the Texas gambling-saloon** in Goldfield, Nevada. Then, in 1908, the northwestern mining town was nearing the end of its…

Was Reno City Councilman Crooked?

1923-1945 Reno, Nevada’s Third Ward city councilman during the 1920s and 1930s was “owned by” the local Mobsters, acted in their interests and protected them, contended Harold S. Smith, Jr., Harolds Club co-owner, in his…

Mobsters Horn in on Northern Nevada Gambling Clubs

Ad in the Nevada State Journal, June 26, 1935 1929-1941 In the early decades of legal gambling in Nevada, Reno’s McKay/Graham combine expropriated legitimate business owners’ casinos in Washoe County. The local Mob, headed by…

Money-Flashing Vegas Gamblers Have Secret

1955-1985 Their behavior at several Las Vegas casinos got them noticed. Then the dominoes fell. Two men showed wads of C notes at the craps tables, tried to exchange some of them for casino bills…

Few Convictions for Cheating at Gambling Interpreted

1931-1948 Gambling and cheating at gambling go together like, well, coins in a slot machine or cards in a shoe. Seemingly, they always will despite various efforts — violence, laws/rules, surveillance, firings, procedures, technology and…

It’s Finally Here!

Dear Subscribers, First, I’d like to thank you all for your readership and support. It means a lot. On another note, the gambling history book, A Bold Gamble at Lake Tahoe: Crime and Corruption in…

Surprise Event at Incline Village Casino Threatens Its Success

This is the last of a series of posts related to and leading up to the release on Dec. 6 of A Bold Gamble at Lake Tahoe: Crime and Corruption in a Casino’s Evolution by…

“Mod-Medieval” Costumes Serve as Lake Tahoe Hotel-Casino Work Uniforms

This is the third of a series of posts related to and leading up to the release on Dec. 6 of A Bold Gamble at Lake Tahoe: Crime and Corruption in a Casino’s Evolution by…