Casino de Monte-Carlo – La Salle Schmitt

1880

British and French patrons crowded the Casino de Monte-Carlo, games were in full operation and large sums of money sat on the tables. It was a typical Saturday night in spring at the Monaco institution. 

Around 11 p.m., a tremendous explosion wracked one of the gambling rooms, throwing people to the floor, extinguishing most of the lights and smashing the windows, chandeliers, clocks and mirrors. Many people fainted. Others sustained cuts and scratches on their hands and faces from falling, broken glass.

“A wild panic took possession of the crowd. A scene of blind, chaotic confusion and turmoil followed,” reported Ohio’s Van Wert Bulletin (April 30, 1880).

In the rush to flee the terror, the frantic mob knocked down and trampled people.

One eyewitness described the pandemonium as:

“A number of women were sprawling in hysterics; a few others had really fainted and looked ghastly through their powder; chairs were overturned, metal was bent into contortions and mirrors were in fragments; there were bleeding croupiers carrying away the bank in hot haste; Frenchwomen gesticulating and screaming, and Englishwomen pale and excited. Altogether I never saw a scene to compare with it in bustle, terror and confusion, even on the stage” (The Daily Star—Ohio, June 30, 1880).

What Had Happened

Later, when the damage was assessed, it was discovered that numerous people suffered serious injuries, but no one died.

The cause of the blast was a dynamite cartridge that some thieves placed under a mantel clock to create a disturbance significant enough to allow them to rob the casino successfully. The crooks stole the gold and bank notes lying on the game tables, 150,000 francs’ worth (about $592,500 today).

Four men, presumably the criminals, mugged a guest, according to one account. If the perpetrators had intended to plunder the safe, too, they failed.

“Had the explosive charge been somewhat larger, the consequences would have been most disastrous,” according to London, England’s Magnet (May 3, 1880).  

During the commotion, many of the floor employees stayed put.

“They went on dealing, playing, raking in the stakes, twirling the roulette wheel, and keeping a careful eye on the treasures in the centre of each table,” noted London’s Daily News (April 27, 1880).

Just how bold was the crime for the time period?

“There have been many plots and tricks devised to rob the Monte Carlo gaming establishment, but in audacity and success this last one eclipses any of its predecessors,” reported the Van Wert Bulletin (April 30, 1880).

Sources

Dennis Day

1951

The Irish tenor, Dennis Day, was about to begin a singing engagement at downtown Reno’s Riverside hotel in the summer of 1951. Day is known for his appearances on the Jack Benny comedy show and his own television show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day.

To promote his performances, he participated in a photo shoot for local media. Dashing in a suit and tie, he creatively posed for the cameras, sometimes with beautiful women, others without, but always beside a red wheelbarrow allegedly filled with 25,000 silver dollars, said to be his salary for the two-week gig.

About 30 minutes into the shoot, Day suddenly upended the wheelbarrow and poured its contents into the hotel’s swimming pool. As the silver dollars cascaded through the green water to the bottom, casino manager Myrton “Mert” Wertheimer and hotel manager Arthur Allen sprinted over to Day.  

“What do you think you’re fooling with—hay?” yelled an outraged Wertheimer.

“It’s supposed to be my money. I’ve been kept waiting an hour for this deal, and I have an appointment with a doctor. My throat is sore,” Day said then quickly retreated.

Within minutes, Wertheimer had people diving for and recovering the coins from the pool for fear they’d rust.

“Proof that Day’s action wasn’t in the script was furnished by the photographers themselves, who were so flabbergasted, they didn’t catch a picture of the silver sliding into the briny,” wrote reporter John Burns (Nevada State Journal, July 18, 1951).

It wasn’t until much later that Wertheimer and Allen saw the humor in Day’s stunt. Though they probably wanted to, they didn’t fire Day, who likely received his pay in the form of a check.

Sources

Tonopah, Nevada in 1913

1904

An industrious individual tunneled beneath the Tonopah Club in Tonopah, Nevada, cut a hole through the casino floor and stole $1,000 in gold and silver from the box under the faro table – all while a game was in progress!

Photo from Wikimedia Commons