Nevada – Author / Blogger

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…

California Casino History Cheating / Fleecing Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Thimblerig United States Utah William "Lucky Bill" B. Thorington

Gold Rush Era Gambler Makes Fortune in West With Thimblerig

Late 1840s-1858 A list of Western United States’ gamblers would be incomplete without William “Lucky Bill” B. Thorington.* A thimblerig master, he plied his craft in the Western mining camps and towns from Sacramento to…

Bally Entertainment Corp. Bally Manufacturing Corp. Bally's Casino Tunica (Robinsonville, MS) Bally's Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Bally's New Orleans (New Orleans, LA) Bally's Park Place (Atlantic City, NJ) Bally's Reno (Reno, NV) Caesars Entertainment Casino History Corporations Eldorado Resorts Gambling History Gaming & Leisure Properties Gaming History Louisiana Meruelo Group Mississippi Nevada New Jersey Paris Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Quick Facts VICI Properties

Quick Fact – Casino Empire

Today Bally Manufacturing Corp., at one time decades ago, was heavily involved in the gambling industry. It owned six hotel-casinos in the U.S. It was a major producer of state lottery games and developer of…

Anthony Zerilli Australia Bally Manufacturing Co. Bally Manufacturing Corp. Casino History Chicago--Illinois Dino Cellini Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History Gerardo "Jerry" Catena It Really Happened Joseph D. Testa, Jr. Lion Manufacturing Co. London--England Meyer Lansky Michael Polizzi Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) Nevada New Jersey Riviera (Havana, Cuba) Slot Machines / Fruities Teamsters Pension Fund United States

Mobster Ties: Blessing and Curse for Gambling Conglomerate (Part I)

1963-1970s With assorted help from Mobsters starting in 1963, a small Chicago, Illinois-based pinball game maker, which had begun as Lion Manufacturing Co. in the 1920s, grew into the world’s largest slot machine developer, Bally…

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 Casino History Chesterfield Syndicate (Detroit, MI) Daniel "Danny" W. Sullivan Gambling History Gaming History Harry Robbin Isadore Edward "Ed" Robbin It Really Happened Lincoln Fitzgerald Nevada Nevada Club (Reno, NV) Raymond Reuben "Ruby" Mathis Reno--Nevada Robbin and Robbin / Robbins' Nevada Club Takeovers United States

Syndicate Members Usurp Father-and-Son Gambling Club

1941-1956 The Nevada Club (1941-1987) in Reno exemplifies the stereotypic mobsters-and-gambling connection that pervaded The Silver State for decades during the 1900s. The business began as Robbin and Robbin, opened by Harry Robbin, 65, and…

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…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Geographical Areas Nevada Nevada Gaming Commission Nevada Gaming Control Board Nevada Tax Commission Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Greater Transparency Given

1952 The Nevada Tax Commission members agreed by unanimous vote to allow reporters to sit in and report on its voting sessions, meetings in which they made key decisions. Previously, voting had been done behind closed…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Disseminating Horse Racing Info Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Illegal It Really Happened Jack Sullivan / John D. Scarlett James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Raymond J. Poncia Reno--Nevada United States Washoe Publishing Company Western News Company William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Reno Mobsters' Bank Club Breaks Gambling Law

1940-1941 In a series of raids in December 1940, Washoe County deputy sheriffs confiscated gambling-related paraphernalia from three Reno, Nevada locations: 1) Bank Club casino 2) Washoe Publishing Company (WPC) (room 311 in the Lyons Building)…

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.…

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,…

Assaults Crimes / Violence / Punishments Did You Know? Disturbing the Peace Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Golden Bank (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Reno Police Department--Nevada Reno--Nevada Slot Machines / Fruities United States

Quick Fact - Beat-it-Out-of-You Approach

1957 Inside the Golden Bank Casino on a Saturday afternoon, security personnel saw Merle Naughton, 40-year-old salesman, yanking and pounding on slot machines. When they told him to leave, he did. He went across the…

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,…