Did You Know? Archives

Did You Know? Games / Races: Poker Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit McGill Club (McGill, NV) McGill--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - McGill Suit

1928 A woman named Gladys Anderson sued the McGill Club in McGill, Nevada for $5,000, which she claimed her husband had lost there playing poker. The district court, however, dismissed her case because it lacked…

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…

Casino: Takeovers China Did You Know? Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Hankow Fire

1928 Countless people died and an estimated 10,000 people lost their homes due to a ferocious fire started in a Chinese gambling den that razed a major street in the heavily populated city of Hankow.…

Did You Know? Gambling Gambling: Shills Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Shills Unlicensed

1961 In Nevada, where casino operators can employ shills to play in their clubs, it was established that a licensee may not act as a shill, gambling in their own establishment. Their spouse can’t either…

Did You Know? Gambling Laws / Regulations Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Gambling Hours

1889 Nevada passed a law mandating that gambling houses couldn’t open any earlier than 6 a.m. and couldn’t close any later than midnight. The sentence for violation was a $200 to $500 fine and/or 30…

Did You Know? Gambling Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - WPA Mandate

1937 The director of the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal agency that employed individuals to construct public works projects, informed all Nevada workers that it wouldn’t tolerate “gambling, drinking or other unnecessary expenditure.” Those…

Did You Know? Lake Tahoe--Nevada Las Vegas--Nevada Palms Casino Resort (Las Vegas, NV) Playboy Club (Las Vegas, NV) Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Playboy Casino

1971 Adult magazine publisher Hugh Hefner announced to the media that in two years’ time, Nevada would be home to a Playboy casino in either Las Vegas or on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. It didn’t…

Accidents Accidents: Flooding Did You Know? Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Riverside Hotel (Reno, NV)

Quick Fact - Reno Flood

1950 The Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada overflowed, the raging waters swelling high enough to deluge nearby businesses. One was the Riverside hotel where 4+ feet of water amassed in the casino, restaurant and lobby.…

Casino History Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers Did You Know? Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations Gambling: Tips Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Tips Taxable

1976 The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California ruled any tips, or tokes, that individuals give to casino dealers is a form of taxable income. Photos from freeimages.com: by Gustavo Ribeiro de…

Did You Know? Gambling Laws / Regulations Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - First Floor

1869, 1877, 1905 The 1869 statute partially legalizing gambling in Nevada prohibited any such operations in first floor rooms. An 1877 revision allowed gambling in back rooms of a ground level in certain small counties.…

Cuba Did You Know? Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Cuban Right

1958 To crush subversive or revolutionary activity, Cuban President Fulgencio Batista suspended for 45 days all constitutional guarantees in the country, including the right to public assembly. Yet he allowed gambling operations to continue.

Did You Know? Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Stateline--Nevada

Quick Fact - Cattle Drive

1963 Because another route wasn’t available, in August, ranchers drove more than 200 cattle through the casino section of Stateline, Nevada en route to the bovines’ summer range in the California mountains. Photo from freeimages.com,…

Did You Know? Games / Races: Roulette Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada

Quick Fact - Wheel Woods

Early 1900s Manufacturer B.C. Wills & Company crafted roulette wheels out of one or more woods — boxwood, ebony, rosewood, walnut, Honduras mahogany or satin wood — that were seasoned and kiln dried in a…

Did You Know? Gambling Laws / Regulations Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Operation Penalty

1937 At a time when wide-open gambling was legal in Nevada, the penalty for operating a game of chance without a license was 60 days in the county jail or a $120 fine. Photo from…

Did You Know? Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada The Mint (Las Vegas, NV)

Quick Fact - Mint Cake

1964 For its eighth anniversary, The Mint in Las Vegas, Nevada baked a mega, 6,527-pound cake in the shape of the hotel-casino. About the size of 1,363 regular 10-inch cakes, it required: • 12,960 eggs • 2,400…