1935-1965 Tony Accardo, né Antonino Leonardo Accardo (1906-1992), is credited with reviving and expanding the Chicago Outfit’s gambling business in the 1940s after the organization’s head Paul “The Waiter” Ricca named him underboss. Accardo himself had his hand in various gaming enterprises before and after, too. Accardo is the great-grandfather of the National Football League’s…
“Dice are the most ancient gambling implements known to man, and the most universal, having been known in nearly all parts of the world since earliest times.” —Hoyle’s Rules of Games From size to spot design, the basic elements of dice have evolved over time. Much of the changes made to U.S. dice over…
1960-1961 Singer Tony Martin applied for a gambling license to acquire a 2 percent interest for $50,000 ($410,000 today) in the Riviera hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Investigation into his background revealed he’d served two days in a Los Angeles jail in 1947 after having pleaded guilty to speeding. Consequently, Nevada’s gambling regulators required he explain…