Quick Fact – Playboy Casino
1971 Adult magazine publisher Hugh Hefner announced to the media that in two years’ time, Nevada would be home to a Playboy casino in either Las Vegas or on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. It didn’t…
Arizona
Casino History
Gambling History
Gambling: Illegal
Gambling: Raids
Gambling: War
Gaming History
It Really Happened
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Maricopa County Attorney John W. Corbin--Arizona
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Maricopa County Justice of the Peace Harry E. Westfall--Arizona
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Maricopa County Sheriff Roy Merrill--Arizona
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Porter Northroup--Arizona
Maricopa County--Arizona
Phoenix--Arizona
United States
Illegal Gambling Conspiracy in Maricopa County
1937-1938 Within a year of becoming the Maricopa County Attorney, John W. Corbin began work to expose the illegal gambling taking place in the Arizona region. He set his sights on busting the game operators and…
Casino History
Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc.
Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc.: H.M. Hicks
Gambling History
Gambling License
Games / Races: Craps
Games / Races: Roulette
Gaming History
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission
It Really Happened
Nevada
Oak Room (Reno, NV)
Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee
Pyramid Securities Inc.: Carl Inskeep
Pyramid Securities Inc.: Emmett Shea
Pyramid Securities Inc.: Joe Caulk
United States
Games of Chance Appropriate in Bus Depot?
1951 Prior to the July grand opening of the new Greyhound Lines Inc. bus terminal at 224 S. Center Street in Reno, Pyramid Securities Inc. applied for a gambling license and permission to offer games…
Casino: Corporations: Pyramid Securities Inc.
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Fraud
Gambling History
Gambling: Equipment
Gaming History
Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit
Nevada
Oak Room (Reno, NV)
Pyramid Securities Inc.: Joe Larango
Slot Machines Land on Trouble in Reno
1953 Theodore “Ted” Donaldson, 31, bought six slot machines from Joe Larango of Pyramid Securities Inc., a company with the devices in several Reno, Nevada locations, including the Oak Room casino. Donaldson paid the $1,825 cost…
Brothels
Brothels: Ash Meadows Sky Ranch (Lathrop Wells, NV)
Did You Know?
Gambling History
Gambling License
Gaming History
Lathrop Wells (Amargosa Valley)--Nevada
Nevada
Quick Facts
Quick Fact – An “Unsuitable” Combo
1972 The brothel Ash Meadows Sky Ranch, in Lathrop Wells (today Amargosa Valley) in Nye County, accessible via an airstrip, was denied a gambling license by Nevada gaming regulators to operate four slot machines on…
Gambling Currency: Coins
Gambling Currency: Tokens / Bingles
Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
It Really Happened
Nevada
Got Coins?
1965 The U.S. suffered a shortage of coins in 1965. And that led to decreased business for Nevada’s largest industry — gambling. Usage of half-dollars, common in casinos then for table games and one-armed bandits,…