Games / Races: Poker Archives

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Fred Heier Gambling History Gambling: Symbols: Johnny Ox Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Indiana Indianapolis--Indiana It Really Happened Jack Shea T. Thompson aka Johnny Ox United States William "Bill" Kissel

It Really Happened! Investigates: Who is "Johnny Ox?"

1903 “Accommodation for Johnny Ox,” a gambling-related headline in the Nevada State Journal, March 17, 1903, puzzled us. Curious (read: obsessive), we set out to decipher it. The brief news item relayed two gambling saloons…

Artists / Designers: Cassius Marcellus Coolidge Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Art Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened United States

Paintings of Canine Gamblers Still Ring True 100 Years Later

1894-Today In his paintings depicting dogs as humans, Cassius “Kash” Marcellus Coolidge (1844-1934) brilliantly captured the nuances of poker playing and gambling. The dogs’ expressions are spot on and the details, comedic. Perhaps Coolidge himself…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Holdouts Gambler (Operators/Players): Card Sharps Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened P.J. Kepplinger San Francisco--California United States

The World's Cleverest, Most Successful Card Cheating Apparatus

1888 It was the “very finest … the world has ever seen … a masterpiece,” wrote John Nevil Maskelyne in his 1894 book, Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at…

Bally Manufacturing Corp. Casino History Chicago--Illinois Gambling History Games / Races Games / Races: Games Creators / Manufacturers: Lion Manufacturing Co. Games / Races: Lotteries/Sweepstakes Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Gaming History It Really Happened Quick Facts The Who United States

Quick Fact - Naming Bally

1968, 1969 Bally Manufacturing Corp. got its name from Ballyhoo, the first coin-operated pinball machine (a penny got you seven plays) created in 1931 by Raymond Moloney, owner of Chicago, Illinois-based Lion Manufacturing Co. Lion…

California Casino History Charles "Chuck" J. Delmonico / Charles Tourine, Jr. Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing: Card Spying Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Extortion Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambler (Operators/Players): High Rollers Gambler (Operators/Players): High Rollers: Nicholas "Nick the Greek" A. Dandolos Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Debt Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Marshall Caifano / Johnny Marshall Nevada Palm Springs--California Raymond "Ray" J. Ryan Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV) United States

A Rare Case: High Roller Defies, Tattles on Mobsters

1963-1964 Mobsters Marshall Caifano (aka Johnny Marshall) and Charles Delmonico were arrested in Las Vegas on a federal warrant in July 1963 for conspiracy to commit extortion and engaging in interstate transportation in the aid…

Anti-Gambling / Anti-Casino Efforts California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Did You Know? Gambling Gambling Currency: Coins Gambling History Gambling: Raids Games / Races Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Los Angeles-California Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Threefold Pettiness

1940 After some angry husbands in Los Angeles, California complained their wives were gambling away the grocery money, two vice squad officers raided the Monday night birthday party of Ann Dicker, a 73-year-old great-grandmother, at…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Dallas--Texas Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Lester "Benny" Binion Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations Moe Dalitz Nevada 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…

Boulder City--Nevada Casino History Casino: Openings F.J. Warren Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Bingo Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Gaming History Henderson--Nevada It Really Happened Nevada O.T. Buck Railroad Pass Club (Henderson, NV) United States

Casino Entertains Hoover Dam Workers

1931 Twenty-six miles southeast of Las Vegas, the United States government, in 1931, developed Boulder City as the place to house men working on the Hoover Dam (originally Boulder Dam). The Bureau of Reclamation required…

Casino History Europe Gambling Gambling Currency: Dominoes Gambling Currency: Pebbles Gambling Currency: Wooden Cocks (Roosters) Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History It Really Happened Poland

Poland Seizes on Gambling

1913 During this year, the tail end of the second wave of massive Polish emigration, about 3.5 million people, primarily peasants from poor rural provinces, was taking place. Looming on the horizon was the outbreak…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: CA Anti-Gambling Act Gambling: Debt Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened Long Beach--California United States

Mega Poker Loss in California

1938 Esquire* Harry T. Clifton was a wealthy Englishman who owned racing stables and often visited Southern California. During his visit there in April 1938, he gambled with Lew Brice and Tommy Guinan in a…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Creepy Quick Fact - Stiff at Poker Game

1939 A Fred Martens, or “Fritz the Rooster,” sat at a table in a Las Vegas gambling house playing poker with some men. After a streak of bad luck, he seemed headed for a possible straight.…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Currency: Chips Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Quick Facts Ships: American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. United States

Quick Fact - Hit Them in the Pocketbook

1913 During an era of reform in the United States, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company tried to discourage gambling by raising the freight rate on poker chips transported from New York to the West Coast by…

Did You Know? Edie Adams Ernie Kovacs Gambling Games / Races: Poker Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - A Splurge For a Splurge

1954-1962 Each time her husband, Ernie Kovacs, lost big at poker, actress Edie Adams bought herself a chinchilla coat or antique harpsichord. When the bills for those purchases arrived, he’d say, “We can’t afford this!”…

California Embassy Club (Gardena, CA) Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations: CA Anti-Gambling Act Games / Races: Poker Gardena--California It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Monterey Club (Gardena, CA) Politicians / Politics: CA California Attorney General Ulysses Webb United States

Games / Races: Poker