Did You Know? 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),…

Did You Know? Gambling Gambling Currency: Chips Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Chip Deposit

1948 A guest of the Flamingo hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada accidentally took home a $5 ($50 today) gambling chip then deposited it into the Bank of Arizona. The bank mailed to the Flamingo the…

Canada Did You Know? Games / Races: Faro Quick Facts Yukon

Quick Fact - Yukon's Faro

1968 The town of Faro in the Yukon (northwestern Canada) was named after the card game of chance, which was popular there during the days of the Klondike Gold Rush between 1896 and 1899.

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…

Aladdin Resort & Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Did You Know? Gambling License Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Publisher Unsuitable

1967 New York publisher, Lyle Stuart, applied to the Nevada Gaming Commission for a gambling license to purchase 1 percent of the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $25,000 ($178,000 today).…

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

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Did You Know? Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambler (Operators/Players): Estate Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Siegel's Estate

1955 When presumed-to-be-wealthy mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, was slain at age 41, the estate he left was worth $35,609 (about $314,550 today). Before his murder, Siegel co-financed and oversaw completion of the Flamingo hotel-casino in…

Did You Know? Gambling Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Peephole Vetting

1931 Even after wide-open gambling became legal in Nevada, many of the exclusive clubs continued to vet the people who wanted entry. Someone inside the establishment would look through the peephole in the door and…

Did You Know? Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Store Slots

1967 Nevada legislators proposed a bill that would disallow any future installation of slot machines in grocery and drug stores. It died, though, in the Senate Taxation Committee.

Did You Know? Gambler (Operators/Players): Minors Gambling Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Gambling Minors

1888 When select games of chance were legal in Nevada, so many youths under age 21 regularly were frequenting the gambling clubs (which was illegal) that the police threatened to make an example of some…

Did You Know? Harolds Club (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada

Quick Fact - Harolds Warning

Harolds Club, a casino that debuted in Reno, Nevada in 1935, displayed signs on its property that read: “No one can win all the time. Harolds Club advises you to risk only what you can…

Did You Know? Gambling Currency: Coins Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Sands (Las Vegas, NV)

Quick Fact - Sands Silver

1956 As revelers welcomed the new year at the Sands in Las Vegas, Nevada, management gave every guest (an estimated 18,000 of them) a brand new silver dollar. Additionally, they gifted each of the 700 women…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Teachers Excluded

1957 The Washoe County School District in Northern Nevada prohibited its teachers from moonlighting as casino workers, believing they shouldn’t be seen in such places while working as educators. Photo from freeimages.com

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”

Did You Know? Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Roulette Movies / Movie Stars / Entertainers / Celebrities Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Equipment Carful

1920 Following abolishment of gambling in Nevada, a Los Angeles moving picture company purchased and shipped to California a carful of equipment outlawed in 1909, including roulette wheels, faro tables and chuck-a-luck games. Photo from…

"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…