shooting Archives

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Reno Police Department--Nevada Nevada United States

Gunfire Roils Crowded Harolds Club

1947-1953 Harolds Club bustled on Christmas Eve in 1947 with revelers enjoying the gambling and camaraderie when an unexpected event instantly silenced the din. Panic followed. Since the previous morning, Reno, Nevada police had been…

It Really Happened James Mann / Bernard Louvre Saloon (Goldfield, NV) Oberon (Reno, NV) United States Wieland Saloon (Reno, NV)

Gambler’s Drunken Stupidity

1904-1905 Criminal drama occurred between two men late one November morning in the Wieland saloon in Reno, Nevada in 1904. James Mann, a Wyoming man who sometimes worked in Silver State gambling clubs — the…

Elko--Nevada It Really Happened Stockmen's Hotel (Elko, NV)

Casino Criminal Loses Control

1954 Late on a Saturday night in 1954, during the peak of business, an unemployed, 27-year-old railroad hand entered the Stockmen’s Hotel, in Elko, Nevada, where townspeople, miners, ranchers and tourists congregated to socialize, drink and…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder It Really Happened

Gambling Defeat Leads to Calamity

1915-1935 James “Jimmy” Sidney Rogan, an active student and football player, was well liked by the principal of his high school in Tonopah, a mining boom town halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. In 1915,…

Desert Club (Tonopah, NV) Gambling It Really Happened Tonopah--Nevada

Unforeseen Perils of Gambling

1920 It was 3 a.m. on a Monday. About 15 men were gambling in the Desert Club. One who’d been there all night, sitting alone, watching and waiting to make his move was George Strickland.…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers Colombo Hotel (Reno, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting It Really Happened

Bad Blood Between Casino Dealers

1935 Police discovered John S. Parks, a 67 year old, carrying a loaded Colt 45 automatic on a downtown Reno, Nevada street around midnight on a July Monday. With blood streaming from his nose and…

Andrew Jackson "Jack" Blackman Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Folsom State Prison (CA) Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Town House (Reno, NV) United States

Shakedown in Reno Escalates (Part 2)

1944-1945 The trial of Andrew Jackson “Jack” Blackman, free on $10,000 bail, began in April 1945, six months after he’d fatally shot James Lannigan in the Bank Club in Reno, Nevada. District Attorney Melvin E. Jepson, in…

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 Gambling History Gaming History Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Clark County Sheriff's Office--Nevada Nevada United States

Catching an Impromptu Show in Vegas

1958 Tourists Robert and Lola McDurmon may or may not have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on how you look at it. After taking in four shows on the Las…