Nevada Archives

"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…

Bernard "Mooney" Einstoss Casino: Financings Casino: Financings: Reconstruction Finance Corporation It Really Happened Louis "Lou" Wertheimer Mapes (Reno, NV) Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

Was The Mapes' Financing Unethical?

1947 The United States’ Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) co-financed construction of a gambling enterprise via its $975,000 loan for the Mapes hotel-casino in Reno, Nevada in 1947. Under Attack Three years later, Senators William Fulbright…

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…

Gambling Laws / Regulations Gambling License Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Washoe County Sheriff E. Russell Trathen--Nevada Nevada Northern Club (Las Vegas, NV) Owl Club (Reno, NV) Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Frederick "Fred" Balzar

Yes To Open Gambling: No Big Deal

1931 Despite an influx of newsmen into town to report what gambling now looked like in Nevada’s biggest city immediately following legalization, a move they described as “reviving the days of the pioneer west,” the…

Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada

Hey, IRS, Give 'Em Back!

1961 It was hot inside and outside Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada on a Wednesday afternoon in the early summer of 1961. Indoors, people gathered around to watch high-roller Lonnie Joe Chadwick on a winning…

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…

Gambling License Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay John Petricciani Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Gambling License Fees: No Joke

1935 In 1934, John Petricciani regained use of his Reno, Nevada, property he’d owned for 10 years and first licensed his saloon, the Palace Bar, for roulette and 21 games, one apiece. Prior, he’d leased…

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…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Espanol Hotel (Reno, NV) Felix Turillas Sr. It Really Happened Nevada Prohibition Reno--Nevada

Who To Believe In The Wild West

1920 Some shady business went down between Felix Turillas, Sr., who owned Reno’s Espanol hotel and who went on to own several Northern Nevada casinos, and two men, Joe Musso and Joe Stropin. According to…

Gambling Laws / Regulations It Really Happened Nevada

Was Betting on "Old Maid" Legal?

1861-present Since becoming a U.S. territory, Nevada has undergone periods of full, partial and no legalization of gambling. Here’s a timeline of what types of games of chance legislators allowed or disallowed and when: 1861:…

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.…

Cal-Neva Lodge (Lake Tahoe, NV) Clara Bow Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Elmer "Bones" F. Remmer Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Nevada