Murder

Casino History Craps Gambling History Gaming History Harry Claiborne Huntingdon State Correctional Institution (PA) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Murder Nevada Philadelphia--Pennsylvania Robbery / Theft / Embezzling

Money-Flashing Vegas Gamblers Have Secret

1955-1985 Their behavior at several Las Vegas casinos got them noticed. Then the dominoes fell. Two men showed wads of C notes at the craps tables, tried to exchange some of them for casino bills…

California Casino History Chico Marx Did You Know? Gambling History George "Les" Bruneman Los Angeles-California Murder Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Cavalier Comic

1937 A $2,000 check signed “Chico Marx” (about $34,600 today) was found in the pocket of Los Angeles gambler/bookmaker George “Les” Bruneman upon his murder carried out by a couple of Southern California Mafia hitmen.…

Bookmaking CA Governor Edmond "Pat" G. Brown CA Governor Gerald "Jerry" Brown California Casino History Feuds Folsom State Prison (CA) Frank Bompensiero Gambling Gambling History Gaming History George "Les" Bruneman It Really Happened Jack Dragna Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno Johnny Rosselli Leonard "Leo/Lips" C. Moceri Los Angeles-California Murder Nationwide (Wire Service) Surf Club (Redondo Beach, CA) United States

Los Angeles Mafiosos Snuff Out Innocents' Lives Over Gambling Beef

1937-1981 An innocent man was placed in law enforcement’s crosshairs in late 1930s Los Angeles for a heinous crime … the frame-up stuck. Caught Unawares While strolling on Southern California’s Redondo Beach Strand, or boardwalk,…

Alphonse "Al/Scarface" Capone Casino History Chicago--Illinois Estelle Carey Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Marshall Caifano / Johnny Marshall Murder Nicholas Deani "Nick Dean" Circella Nicholas Deani Circella aka Nick Dean Torture United States William "Willie" M. Bioff

"Dice Girl" Rolls Horrendous Fate

1943 In the mid-afternoon of Tuesday, February 2, 1943, smoke emanating from a third-story apartment in Lakeview, Illinois led to the discovery of a woman dead inside — her face, head and neck mutilated, her…

Assaults Casino History Cheating / Fleecing Extortion Gambling History Gaming History Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened John "Johnny" W. Hicks Las Vegas--Nevada Murder Nevada Shooting Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV) United States

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 Dallas--Texas Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Lester "Benny" Binion Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) Moe Dalitz Murder Nevada Poker Tax Evasion U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation 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…

Casino History Cheating / Fleecing Elite Club (Ely, Nevada) Ely--Nevada Firearms Gambling History Gaming History Goodsprings--Nevada It Really Happened Murder Nevada Oberon Saloon (Sparks, NV) Pioneer Saloon (Goodsprings, NV) Shooting 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…

Bartley "Bart" J. Smithson Casino History Ely--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Murder Nevada Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) NV) Officer Herbert "Burt" D. Long Palace Club (Ely, NV) Shooting United States

Gambler Destroys the Peace … Officer

1932 At about 4:30 on a Sunday morning, a drunk Bartley “Bart” J. Smithson was target practicing in the Palace Club, shooting at a spittoon and a silver dollar with a 0.38 Smith & Wesson…

Casino History El Dorado County Sheriff Ernest Carlson--California Gambling History Gaming History Harrah's Lake Tahoe (Stateline, NV) It Really Happened Lake Tahoe--Nevada Murder Nevada Stateline--Nevada

Murder Mystery at South Shore

1958-1959 Clarence Thayer grew ill with flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving Day in 1958 while visiting his sister in Oakland, California. He was a well drilling contractor who lived in South Lake Tahoe. He and his…

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Cheating / Fleecing Extortion Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Hawaii It Really Happened Junkets Lake Tahoe--Nevada Las Vegas--Nevada Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) Murder Nevada Nevada Gaming Commission Nevada Gaming Control Board NV Regulation 25 Robbery / Theft / Embezzling United States

Crooks Exploit Gambling Junkets

1969-present When executives of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada hosted 12 people from Kansas City in 1969 as part of a gambling junket, it unexpectedly backfired. When their guests, after four days at the…

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

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…

It Really Happened Los Angeles-California Murder Robbery / Theft / Embezzling San Quentin State Prison (CA)

Gambling Defeat Leads to Calamity

1915-1935 James “Jimmy” Sidney Rogan, an active student and football player, was well liked by the principal of his high school in Tonopah, Nevada, a mining boom town halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. In…