Dangerous Liaisons in Sin City

1972-1977 A $25,000 ($146,000 today) offer for the murder of 27-year-old John “Johnny” W. Hicks had been circulated, it was rumored throughout Las Vegas in mid-1972. The son of Marion B. Hicks, previous owner of…

Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations Gaming History It Really Happened Knightsbridge Sporting Club (London, England) Las Vegas--Nevada London--England Nevada

1970s Gambling: England v. Nevada

1976 “Next time try London. The odds are better,” boasted a sign in the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas in 1976. The posting of this ad and possibly others resulted from an agreement between…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada 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…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: Streeter Plan for Nevada (Proposed) Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Chicago Crime Commission Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Washoe County D.A.--Nevada Meyer Lansky Myrton "Mert" C. Wertheimer Nevada Politicians / Politics: Jack Streeter Riverside Hotel (Reno, NV) United States

Plan: Eject Mobsters from Nevada Gambling

1954 “If the Streeter suggestion should catch fire and the state took over gambling, it would be the damnedest experiment tried in the United States, and Nevada would have more hoodlums per square block than…

Casa Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Casino: Flying Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Flying Casino

1946 Owners of the Casa Vegas gambling club in Southern Nevada, Duke Wiley and Eddie Alias, announced their plan to acquire and convert a surplus, four-engine transport plane into a casino in the air. Slated…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Did You Know? Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Bugsy Siegel's Hidden Safe

1972 Twenty-six years after the gangland assassination of mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and his debut of the Flamingo in Las Vegas, a trap door was discovered in one of the hotel-casino’s offices when the carpet…

"Razzle Dazzle: The Elaine Townsend Story" Casino History Casino: Financings Connie Immerman Cuba Elaine Townsend Gambling History Gambling: Concessions Games / Races: Chemin de Fer Games / Races: Craps Gaming History Gran Casino Nacional (Havana, Cuba) Havana--Cuba It Really Happened Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations

Woman Usurps Mobsters' Gaming Action

1947-1952 Despite New York mobsters trying to scare her off, an ambitious woman — Elaine Townsend (née Margaret Helgeson) — held her own as a gambling operator in the late 1940s. Bright, young and gorgeous, she…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Dallas--Texas Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Lester "Benny" Binion Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations Moe Dalitz Nevada United States

10 Intriguing Facts About Gambling Kingpin "Benny" Binion

Although Texas-born Lester B. “Benny” Binion (1904-1989) no longer is with us, he remains a legend among Las Vegas casino owners and operators — gamblers, in industry parlance. Iconic even in his appearance — large…

Boulder Club (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Any Place Will Do

1931 Using a gambling table as her dais, Canada-born evangelist, Mildred “Minnie” Kennedy, delivered fire and brimstone, revival-type sermons upstairs at the Boulder Club in Las Vegas from Aug. 23 to 30. A large sign…

107th Street Mob Casino History Drugs / Narcotics Gambling History Gambling: Shills Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Helmuth Hartmann It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Reno Police Department--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada United States

The Wanted Man of Mystery

1941 The man who played roulette in the Palace Club nearly every day for six months was noticeable for his suave appearance. Henry Helmut, age 47, had a bit of gray hair and sported a…

Casino History Cleveland's Mayfield Road Gang Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Run Games / Races: Craps Geographical Areas Las Vegas--Nevada Moe Dalitz Moe Dalitz Nevada Quick Facts United States Wilbur Clark

Quick Fact - Beginners' Luck

1950 The $1.6 million Desert Inn resort had just opened in Las Vegas, and a gambling naif nearly put it out of business. A 22-year-old sailor, who didn’t know much about gambling, bet $1 on…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Elite Club (Ely, Nevada) Ely--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History Goodsprings--Nevada It Really Happened Nevada Oberon Saloon (Sparks, NV) Pioneer Saloon (Goodsprings, NV) Sparks--Nevada United States

Men Quick to Fire in Gambling Clashes

1904, 1915, 1936 Against a backdrop of sagebrush and dust in Nevada’s early, remote mining towns, saloons drew men for drinking and gambling. That combination, along with contrarian/antagonistic personalities, sometimes led to disputes that turned…

Canada Casino History Did You Know? Fallsview Casino (Niagara Falls, Ontario) Gambling History Gaming History Niagara Falls--Ontario Quick Facts

Quick Fact - A Natural View

Today In Ontario, Canada, the appropriately named gambling resort — Fallsview Casino — overlooks Horseshoe Falls, one of the three gushing cascades that comprise Niagara Falls.

00 (Double-0) Saloon (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Northern Saloon (Las Vegas, NV) Star (Las Vegas, NV) Turf (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Busted for Running Gambling in Nevada

1916 The year brought indictments in Las Vegas against individuals for violating Nevada’s anti-gambling statute, which was unusual because law enforcement generally ignored or poorly enforced it. Operating a gambling game then constituted a felony.…

Beldon Katleman Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Did You Know? El Rancho Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Shoddy Accounting

1956 When auditors for Nevada reviewed its books, they discovered the El Rancho casino on the Las Vegas Strip had underpaid the requisite gambling taxes over nine quarters by $39,000 ($350,500 today). Despite the claims…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Loss Games / Races: Craps Gaming History Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Reno Police Department--Nevada Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

Blaming It On The Dice

1946-1947 On the third Tuesday of April 1946, after work at the Southern Pacific Shop in Sparks, Nevada, Sam Lemel took the bus to Reno and went to Harolds Club where he played craps. He…

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