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Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Bombings Gambling Harvey A. Gross It Really Happened Stateline--Nevada Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall / Harvey's Wagon Wheel / Harvey's Resort Hotel (Stateline, NV)

Bomb Extortion Plan Blows Up

1980 Thirty-five years ago, on August 27, an intricate bomb blasted a chasm that spanned six of the 11 floors of Harvey’s Resort Hotel at Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. The explosion hadn’t been intentional but,…

"Pop Goes the Weasel (Lady Cocoa)" Did You Know? Kings Castle (Incline Village, NV) Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Lady Cocoa

1975 The blaxploitation thriller, Lady Cocoa (also titled Pop Goes the Weasel), starring singer-dancer Lola Folana, San Francisco 49er Gene Washington and Pittsburgh Steeler Joe Green, was filmed in Northern Nevada. The movie climaxes with a…

Bernard "Mooney" Einstoss Casino: Financings Casino: Financings: Reconstruction Finance Corporation It Really Happened Louis "Lou" Wertheimer Mapes (Reno, NV) Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

Was The Mapes' Financing Unethical?

1947 The United States’ Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) co-financed construction of a gambling enterprise via its $975,000 loan for the Mapes hotel-casino in Reno, Nevada in 1947. Under Attack Three years later, Senators William Fulbright…

Did You Know? Games / Races: Poker Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit McGill Club (McGill, NV) McGill--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - McGill Suit

1928 A woman named Gladys Anderson sued the McGill Club in McGill, Nevada for $5,000, which she claimed her husband had lost there playing poker. The district court, however, dismissed her case because it lacked…

Gambling Laws / Regulations Gambling License Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Washoe County Sheriff E. Russell Trathen--Nevada Nevada Northern Club (Las Vegas, NV) Owl Club (Reno, NV) Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Frederick "Fred" Balzar

Yes To Open Gambling: No Big Deal

1931 Despite an influx of newsmen into town to report what gambling now looked like in Nevada’s biggest city immediately following legalization, a move they described as “reviving the days of the pioneer west,” the…

Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada

Hey, IRS, Give 'Em Back!

1961 It was hot inside and outside Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada on a Wednesday afternoon in the early summer of 1961. Indoors, people gathered around to watch high-roller Lonnie Joe Chadwick on a winning…

Ghost Casino (Rhyolite, NV) It Really Happened Norman C. Westmoreland Rhyolite--Nevada

The Ghost Casino's Disappearance

1937-1947 The bustle and liveliness of this casino have long been dead. All that remains is a specter of the club’s former self in the form of a rundown, abandoned building — a state befitting…

Gambling License Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay John Petricciani Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Gambling License Fees: No Joke

1935 In 1934, John Petricciani regained use of his Reno, Nevada, property he’d owned for 10 years and first licensed his saloon, the Palace Bar, for roulette and 21 games, one apiece. Prior, he’d leased…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Espanol Hotel (Reno, NV) Felix Turillas Sr. It Really Happened Nevada Prohibition Reno--Nevada

Who To Believe In The Wild West

1920 Some shady business went down between Felix Turillas, Sr., who owned Reno’s Espanol hotel and who went on to own several Northern Nevada casinos, and two men, Joe Musso and Joe Stropin. According to…

Did You Know? Lake Tahoe--Nevada Las Vegas--Nevada Palms Casino Resort (Las Vegas, NV) Playboy Club (Las Vegas, NV) Quick Facts

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…

Accidents Accidents: Flooding Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Riverside Hotel (Reno, NV)

Quick Fact - Reno Flood

1950 The Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada overflowed, the raging waters swelling high enough to deluge nearby businesses. One was the Riverside hotel where 4+ feet of water amassed in the casino, restaurant and lobby.…