Robbery / Theft / Embezzling

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Did You Know? Firearms Gambling History Henry Club (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling The Capitol (Reno, NV) United States

Quick Fact - More Trouble Anticipated

1931 Robberies were plaguing Reno. The Capitol bar and the Henry Club, both offering games of chance, were hit inside of eight days. A rumor circulated that notorious gangsters were headed to the Northern Nevada city.…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling San Francisco Police Department--California San Francisco--California U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation United States

Draftsman Gets a Wild Hair … Or Two … Or Three

1952 “Someone very dear to you is being held and will be killed if you don’t give me the money.” This was the content of the note, a bluff, Frederick Charles Will, handed to the…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Robbery / Theft / Embezzling The Westerner (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact - Crossed Wires

1951 Upon entering The Westerner casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, an electrician told the guard he’d been dispatched to repair a boiler connection. After being admitted to the utility room, he produced a pistol and…

Bay Meadows Racetrack (San Mateo, CA) California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Mapes (Reno, NV) Military Nevada New Orleans--Louisiana Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling San Francisco--California Spree United States

Man and Money Gone

1951 Chief Warrant Officer Marcus Gordon Oliver, paymaster at the U.S. Naval Station Treasure Island, complained of feeling ill and left work early on Friday, April 13. The following Monday and Tuesday, he didn’t show…

Casino (Reno, NV) Casino History Did You Know? Edward "Gunboat" Smith Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Reno Police Department--Nevada Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling

Quick Fact - Questions of Identity

1923 A new man in town was thought to be the famous Irish American boxer Edward “Gunboat” Smith. But when the City of Reno police arrested him as a suspect in a $310 ($4,500 today)…

Casino History Gambling History Gaming History Illinois State Penitentiary (Joliet, IL) It Really Happened Nevada Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Poisoning Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling United States

Wily Desperado Falls Short on Crime Execution

1943-1949 Two acquaintances were having a drink at a Reno casino bar — Miles T. Ellis, 47, a tourist, and Anthony Swiderski, 52, a local chef in the Northern Nevada town. At an opportune moment,…

Barn Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Folsom State Prison (CA) Gambling Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Harrah's (Reno, NV) Irving Cowan It Really Happened Jack Fugitt Joseph Scrivani Larry Tripp Louis "Lou" J. Wertheimer Nevada Northern Club (Reno, NV) Openings Otell "Mike" Micheletti Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling United States Walter Oswald William Lawrence Hunger aka Larry Brady World War II

Criminals, Money Problems Plague Reno Casino

1940-1943 The Barn Club casino’s existence during World War II was rocky and, therefore, cut short. It began in December 1940, when Jack Fugitt, an entertainment machine business owner, and Walter Oswald, assumed the lease…

Boulder Club (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Clara Bow Debt Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Lawsuit Louis Cornero Meadows (Las Vegas, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Rex Bell Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Tony Cornero / Antonio Cornero Stralla United States

Quick Fact - The Hard Way or the Easy Way

1931-1932 Actors Clara Bow and Rex Bell gambled at the Meadows in Las Vegas in summer 1931 and racked up a $1,100 loss (about $18,000 today), for which they left an IOU. By December, the…

California Casino History Estate Folsom State Prison (CA) Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened John Quinn Lawsuit Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling San Francisco--California United States

Gambler's Wealth Meets Undue Fate

1924-1932 The story of the estate of a long-ago Nevada gambler after his passing is strange and unfortunate. John Quinn was a man who’d lost and made large fortunes in gambling and mining stock deals…

Bank Club (Elko, NV) Casino History Coins Did You Know? Elko--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Robbery / Theft / Embezzling United States

Quick Fact - Elko Casino Targeted

1934 After hiding somewhere in the building, a person robbed the Bank Club casino’s safe of $500 in silver change (about $9,000 today) between 4 and 6 p.m. on a Wednesday in early December. This…

Casino History Firearms Gambling History Gaming History Harrah's Lake Tahoe (Stateline, NV) It Really Happened Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Stateline--Nevada U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation United States

Crime: The Harrah's Holdup

1972-1973 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to read is true. No names have been changed, as there were no innocents. This is the city, Stateline, Nevada. It’s the gambling mecca of Lake…

Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Lawsuit Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Oberon (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Shooting Suicide United States

Unable To Provide An Alibi

1906-1907 “They’ll never get me,” prisoner John Edwards said while being ushered into court for his trial. “They’ll never fasten anything on me” (Nevada State Journal, April 19, 1906). “Hasn’t a man a right to…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History It Really Happened Lawsuit Nevada Reno City Council (NV) Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Takeovers The Den (Reno, NV) United States

Casino Owners in Combustible Predicament

1949-1950 The Den opened its doors in spring 1949. The proprietors — Donald A. Bentley, John R. Hope and Robert M. Colahan — likely were hoping for at least as long a run as their…

California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Los Angeles-California Quick Facts Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Slot Machines / Fruities United States

Quick Fact - Out of Time

1936 A thief took the trouble of entering a Los Angeles, California café through a skylight to rob the slot and marble games. But instead of getting the heck out after that was successful, he…

Apache Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Clark County Sheriff Glen Jones--Nevada Continental Press Service (Chicago, IL) Dave Stearns Ed Margolis El Dorado Club (Las Vegas, NV) Extortion Federal Communications Act Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History Golden Nugget Race Wire (Las Vegas, NV) Horse Racing It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Meyer Lansky Moe Sedway Morris Rosen Nevada NV) Race Wire Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Sam Stearns Santa Anita Turf Club (Las Vegas, NV) Sin City United States

Mysterious Horse Racing Broadcast

1948-1950 In between dispatch orders, a Las Vegas, Nevada taxi driver fleetingly picked up the announcement of horse racing information on his cab radio one day in mid-October, 1948. He informed Clark County Sheriff Glen…