Crimes / Violence / Punishments Archives

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Crystal Bay Club Casino (Crystal Bay, NV) Did You Know? Gambling Currency: Chips Lake Tahoe--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Lingerie Caper

1966 A 34-year-old 21 dealer at a Crystal Bay, Nevada casino at Lake Tahoe slipped $100 worth of gambling chips into her bra each day for a week before getting caught. Once busted (pun intended),…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Ernest Dennison Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck It Really Happened Nevada

1940s A spate of “roadside zoos” opened along various Nevada highways, typically in rural areas, during the late 1940s. The owners were hustlers who lured unsuspecting tourists onto their grounds with the promise of seeing…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Did You Know? Games / Races: Faro Quick Facts Tonopah Club (Tonopah, NV) Tonopah--Nevada

Quick Fact - Tunnel Thief

1904 An industrious individual tunneled beneath the Tonopah Club in Tonopah, Nevada, cut a hole through the casino floor and stole $1,000 in gold and silver from the box under the faro table – all…

00 (Double-0) Club (Las Vegas, NV) Arcade (Las Vegas, NV) Arizona Club (Las Vegas, NV) Block 16--Nevada California Hotel-Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Gambling Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Gem (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Prohibition Red Onion (Las Vegas, NV) Sin City (Las Vegas) Star (Las Vegas, NV) Turf (Las Vegas, NV)

Block 16: Sin City's Early Days

1905-1941 Imagine in the early 1900s, a block about the length of a football field, in the Mojave Desert in Nevada where gambling, drinking and prostitution prevailed free from law enforcement’s intrusion, and where fights…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Desert Club (Tonopah, NV) Gambling It Really Happened Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Tonopah--Nevada

Unforeseen Perils of Gambling

1920 It was 3 a.m. on a Monday. About 15 men were gambling in the Desert Club. One who’d been there all night, sitting alone, watching and waiting to make his move was George Strickland.…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Did You Know? Gambling Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Cheating Course

1961 A Southern Nevada business offered to teach individuals, for a flat fee of $3,000 ($24,000 today), various ways to successfully cheat slot machines. Photo from freeimages.com

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Currency: Coins Gambling Laws / Regulations It Really Happened Nevada Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Charles Russell Sparks--Nevada

Loophole in the Law

1955 When Nevada legislators legalized gambling in 1931, they didn’t consider one significant caveat. The omission came to light in January 1955 when an industrious Las Vegas casino patron was arrested for using Mexican 10…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Grafting Gambling Gambling License Games / Races: Panguingue Games / Races: Poker George "Tex" Rickard It Really Happened Rawhide--Nevada The Northern (Rawhide, Nevada)

Lawmen Run Amok in Rawhide

1908 Two deputy sheriffs in the mining camp of Rawhide, Nevada,* were on the take. For a regularly paid fee, they allowed establishments to operate legal games without a license and/or run banned ones as well.…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers Colombo Hotel (Reno, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting It Really Happened Reno--Nevada

Bad Blood Between Casino Dealers

1935 Police discovered John S. Parks, a 67 year old, carrying a loaded Colt 45 automatic on a downtown Reno, Nevada street around midnight on a July Monday. With blood streaming from his nose and…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Did You Know? It Really Happened Kings Castle (Incline Village, NV) Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Polygraph Used

1970-1974 During the years Kings Castle in Incline Village, Nevada at Lake Tahoe was open, management routinely used polygraphs on employees, particularly for questions about cheating, theft and employment. Photo from freeimages.com: “No Lies”

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,…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel California Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Frank Nitti It Really Happened Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations Movies / Movie Stars / Entertainers / Celebrities

Movie Starlet Murdered by Mobster?

1934-1935 Today, 80 years later, the circumstances of actress Thelma Todd’s death remain a mystery, and the case still is one of Hollywood’s infamous unsolveds. A deep cover-up precluded the truth about the incident from…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Dice Mice

Early 1900s In The Silver State (Nevada), casinos hired men for the sole job of picking up dice that rolled off the game tables. Only these workers were allowed to touch the cubes to keep cheaters…

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…

Cal-Neva Lodge (Lake Tahoe, NV) Clara Bow Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Elmer "Bones" F. Remmer Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Hollywood Sex Symbol's Missteps

1930 Silent film star, Clara Bow, spent one September evening in 1930 playing illegal gambling games at a Lake Tahoe, Nevada casino. Both winning and losing at roulette, craps, 21 and the dice game, chuck-a-luck,…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Gambling Currency: Coins Gambling Currency: Coins: Brass Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Panguingue Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Tonk It Really Happened Nevada Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV)

Gambling in the Pokey

1932-1967 Inmates strutted around the Nevada State Prison yard and jingled the brass coins or tokens, in their pockets, to boast their elevated status as winning gamblers of the pen. Beginning in 1932, convicts ran…