Nevada Archives

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…

Beldon Katleman Casino History Gambling History Gaming History Gus Greenbaum It Really Happened Marion Hicks Nevada Paradise--Nevada United States Wilbur Clark William J. Moore Winchester--Nevada

Just Like Living in Paradise

1950-Today When people are on the Las Vegas Strip, they’re really in Paradise — the town, that is. In 1950, a rumor surfaced that the City of Las Vegas’ boundaries would be expanded to include…

Andrew Jackson "Jack" Blackman Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Town House (Reno, NV) United States Walter Parman

Shakedown in Reno Escalates (Part 1)

1944-1945 A thug’s confrontation of a casino owner on October 30, 1944 radically altered both of their lives. Andrew Jackson “Jack” Blackman, co-proprietor of the Town House gambling saloon* in Reno, left his business for…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Staying Put

1956 She wouldn’t budge. C. Johnson was playing a slot machine from a stool that was blocking the aisle in a downtown Reno, Nevada casino. When employees asked the Oakland, California resident to please shift…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Prizes Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Shot at a Car

1972 Recognize these cars? A Pinto, Chevelle, Javelin and Datsun 240Z? Harrah’s hotel-casino in Reno, Nevada gave them away as well as cash in four weekly drawings for $35,000 worth of prizes ($205,000 today) over the…