Las Vegas–Nevada

Accidents Automobile Casino History Clara A. Rowan Gambling History Gaming History Hit and Runs It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada United States

In Las Vegas, Coloradan Becomes U.S.' First Female Casino Owner

1931 Catalyzed by unexpected circumstances, Colorado-born Clara Antoinette Rowan (née Beggs) became the first woman to own a legal casino in the United States. Her husband, Thomas “Tom” George Rowan and his partner Leo Kind…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Financings Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) George Raft Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts Rex (offshore, Southern CA) Southern California Offshore

Quick Fact - Bugsy Borrows Benjamins

1938, 1946 Notorious mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, borrowed money several times from his friend, actor George Raft, according to the biography George Raft, for which author Lewis Yablonsky interviewed the subject on numerous occasions. Siegel…

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Circus Circus (Las Vegas, NV) Disruptions Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada NV Governor Mike O'Callaghan Sands (Las Vegas, NV) Strikes / Protests United States

Protests Deliberately Disrupt Gambling in Las Vegas

1971 Actress Jane Fonda and renowned activists led about 900 people down the Las Vegas Strip on March 6, 1971, a Saturday, in protest of welfare cutbacks. “Today we launched a spring offensive and…

Animated Casino History Character Manufacturing Co. Elko--Nevada Frank Polk Gambling History Gaming History Golden (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas Club (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas--Nevada Mapes (Reno, NV) Nevada Nevada Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada Stockmen's Hotel (Elko, NV) Sundance Cravat The Mint (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Reno Company Handcrafts Animated Slot Machines

1950-1956 A novel, animated gambling device began to appear in Nevada casinos in 1950. It debuted in the lobby of Reno’s Mapes hotel-casino in the fall and “got a big play from visiting Shriners,” reported…

Casino History Cheating / Fleecing Crimes / Violence / Punishments Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Holdouts Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - He Who Cheats First …

1938 During a preliminary hearing on the felony charge of using a cheating device while playing cards at a Las Vegas gambling house, Walter Eccles of Los Angeles explained that he’d used a holdout worn…

California Card Spying Casino History Charles "Chuck" J. Delmonico / Charles Tourine, Jr. Crimes / Violence / Punishments Debt Extortion Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Gambling History Gaming History High Rollers It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Lawsuit Marshall Caifano / Johnny Marshall Nevada Nicholas "Nick the Greek" A. Dandolos Palm Springs--California Poker 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…

21 / Blackjack African Americans Beverly Hills-California Chuck-a-luck Craps Faro Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Keno Landmark Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas--Nevada Madison--Wisconsin Mock Nevada Openings Roulette Royal Nevada (Las Vegas, NV) Slot Machines / Fruities U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation United States Virginia

Replicated Casinos: Who, Why, When and Where

1957, 1962, 1968, 1974 Over the years, entities around the world fashioned casinos for various educational and training purposes. Here are four that were based in the U.S.: 1) Instruction for Novice Players In 1957,…

Accidents Automobile Beverly Hills-California California Divorce / Annulment Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Lux (offshore, Southern CA) Meadows (Las Vegas, NV) Montmartre Club (Havana, Cuba) Nevada Rex (offshore, Southern CA) S.S. Rex (Las Vegas, NV) Stardust (Las Vegas, NV) Tony Cornero / Antonio Cornero Stralla United States

Shrouded in Mystery: Gambler Tony Cornero's Fleeting Marriage

1941 The brief union between Tony and Dorothy Stralla ended in a suspicious tragedy. Antonio Cornero Stralla was a colorful, law defying, Southern California rumrunner turned gambler. He was involved, most often as the owner/operator,…

Casino History Circus Circus (Las Vegas, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments Extortion Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV) U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation United States

Pay Up Or Blow Up — Las Vegas

1972 In the mail on Monday, April 24, each of 21 Las Vegas hotel-casinos received an identical, typewritten letter that demanded they pay a total of $2 million (about $12 million today) or get blown…

Accidents Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Lawsuit Lido de Paris Nevada Quick Facts Stardust (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact - The Nude is Falling

1969-1971 Patron Alvin Glasky sat in the Stardust hotel-casino’s showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada, watching Lido de Paris on a Saturday evening in 1969. As one of the topless showgirls was being lowered from the…

Equipment Gambling Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Lawsuit Nevada Ray Wherrit Revenue Slot Machines / Fruities Southern Nevada Vending Company Tax Evasion United States

Cashing In, Out on Slot Machine Route

1951-1954 In October 1951, Southern California resident, Wayne H. Teipel, responded to a “For Sale” ad in the Los Angeles Examiner for a slot machine, pinball game and phonograph route business in Las Vegas, Nevada.…

Accidents Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Did You Know? Flooding Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts Showboat Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact - Floating the Showboat

1967 Ironically, considering the entity’s name, water poured inside the Showboat Hotel (later Castaways) when flash floods hit Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, August 8. At 2800 E. Fremont Street, east of the city, the…