Casino History Archives

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Behind the Word "Casino"

Today A casino is a place that houses and facilitates various gambling forms, according to the English, but a casino or kasino is an officers’ mess hall to the Germans, Spanish and others. In Italian,…

California Casino History Charles Cora Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Hanging Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Fort Gunnybags (San Francisco, CA) Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System Law Enforcement / Judicial System: General William Richardson Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Vigilance Committee San Francisco--California United States

California Faro Dealer Loses It ... All

1855-1856 Charles and Arabella “Bell” Cora were a colorful, rich and well-known San Francisco couple whose lives jolted into misfortune one Saturday night in 1855. He, 39, had made his money from dealing faro in…

Casino History Casinos / Gambling Saloons / Card Clubs / Slot Routes / Wire Services / Hotels / Racetracks / Racinos Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Guys and Dolls musical Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas--Nevada Liberace Mario Lanza Nevada Quick Facts Royal Nevada (Las Vegas, NV) Sin City (Las Vegas) United States Vivian Blaine

Quick Fact - Off, Off, Off Broadway

1955 At least 10 hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offered entertainment, typically marquee names like Liberace and Mario Lanza, who’d played Sin City time and again. The Royal Nevada, though, changed it up with a…

Carson City--Nevada Casino History Creators / Manufacturers Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Elko--Nevada Gambling Gambling History Games / Races Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Games Creators / Manufacturers: Nevada Electronics Inc. Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Hawthorne--Nevada It Really Happened Lake Tahoe--Nevada Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Reno--Nevada Wells--Nevada

Money-Making Casino Ploy

1966 Suddenly, in the fall, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) directed 41-plus casinos to cease operation of specific electronic blackjack machines because they were “experiencing difficulties when played so as to render the devices more…

Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Win / Jackpot Games / Races: Craps Gaming History Geographical Areas Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Reno--Nevada United States

"Gambling Fool's" Three-Day Craps Game

1946 A tastefully attired gent in his 40s sat at a craps table around 7 p.m. on a March Tuesday and began to wager with bundles of $1,000 ($12,000 today). After betting Harolds Club’s house…

Casino History Did You Know? El Rey Club (Searchlight, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Quick Facts Searchlight--Nevada Willie Martello

Quick Fact - The Customer is an Ass

1947-1962 A wild burro sauntered into the popular gambling spot, the El Rey Club in Searchlight, Nevada at about 11 o’clock every morning. It approached the proprietor, Willie Martello, who always fed it something he…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Casino International (Havana, Cuba) Clifford "Cliff" A. Jones Cuba Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) Fremont Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Hilton (Havana, Cuba) Hy Abrams It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Moe Dalitz Morris Kleinmann Nacional (Havana, Cuba) Politicians / Politics: Cuba President Fulgencia Batista Riviera (Havana, Cuba) Thomas McGinty Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV) United States Wilbur Clark

Cuban Casino Push

1952–1958 When Fulgencio Batista returned to power as president in Cuba in 1952, he aimed to foster a gambling empire from which he could generate revenue for his coffers. To facilitate casino development, he and…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Currency: Chips Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Quick Facts Ships: American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. United States

Quick Fact - Hit Them in the Pocketbook

1913 During an era of reform in the United States, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company tried to discourage gambling by raising the freight rate on poker chips transported from New York to the West Coast by…

Casino History Casinos / Gambling Saloons / Card Clubs / Slot Routes / Wire Services / Hotels / Racetracks / Racinos Dick Graves Gambling History Gambling: Art: Golden Rooster Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nugget Motor Lodge / Dick Graves' Nugget / John Ascuaga's Nugget (Sparks, NV) Sparks--Nevada United States

Golden Rooster: Advertising or Art?

1957-1962 Perhaps it was a bird-brained idea, perhaps not. In 1957, Dick Graves, the owner of the Nugget, in Sparks, Nevada, commissioned a handcrafted, solid gold rooster for display in one of his hotel-casino restaurants,…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Raymond A. Smith Reno--Nevada

Quick Fact - Mice and Men

1936 When brothers, Harold S. Smith, Sr. and Raymond A. Smith, opened a small casino called Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada, the main attraction was mouse roulette “where customers bet their small change on what…

Casino History Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) El Rancho Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission: Ray Warren Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission: Robbins Cahill It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Last Frontier (Las Vegas, NV) Phoenix--Arizona Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee Politicians / Politics: U.S. Senator (TN) Estes Kefauver Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV)

Public Relations Nightmare for Nevada Gambling

1951-1952 Gambling boomed in Las Vegas, Nevada immediately following Senator Estes Kefauver and his committee’s nationwide investigation into organized crime. The 27 hearings the group conducted in 14 United States cities in 1950 and 1951…

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Cal-Neva Lodge (Lake Tahoe, NV) Casino History Club Cal Neva (Reno, NV) Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Incline Village--Nevada Lake Tahoe--Nevada Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Restaurants / Chefs: Denny's Restaurants Inc. United States

Quick Fact - Diners and Casinos?

1968-1969 Can you imagine if Denny’s was in Nevada’s casino business? Well, it nearly happened. In 1968 Denny’s Restaurants Inc. had reached an agreement to acquire Caesars Palace in Las Vegas but didn’t go through…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations Gambling Laws / Regulations: U.S. Act to Prohibit Bucketing and Bucket Shopping Gambling: Bucket Shopping Games / Races: Commodities Gaming History It Really Happened Politicians / Politics: U.S. President William Taft United States

Bucket Shopping: A Species of Gambling

1870s-1920s “I want to go short 1,000 bushels of December wheat, 1 cent on the bushel.” This $10 bet was typical back in the heyday of bucket shops in the United States, between 1870 and…

Casino History Chico Marx Commercial Hotel/Monte Carlo Casino (Elko, NV) Did You Know? Elko--Nevada Entertainment Gambling History Gaming History Lawrence Welk Nevada Newton Crumley Paul Whiteman Quick Facts Sophie Tucker Ted Lewis The Andrews Sisters United States

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