Reno–Nevada – Author / Blogger

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…

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

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. It…

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…

21 / Blackjack Casino History Craps Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History Mapes (Reno, NV) Nevada Openings Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Roulette Slot Machines / Fruities United States

Quick Fact - Gambling at Both Ends

1947 When the luxurious 12-story Mapes hotel opened in Reno, Nevada on Saturday, December 27, 1947, it boasted two casinos. One was on the river side of the main level, the other in the southwest…

Assaults Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Casinos / Gambling Saloons / Card Clubs / Slot Routes / Wire Services / Hotels / Racetracks / Racinos Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno City Council (NV) Reno--Nevada Shooting Town House (Reno, NV) United States

Crimes in Reno Casinos Raise Concern

1945-1946 In the Bank Club, a co-proprietor of a local gambling saloon, Andrew Jackson “Jack” Blackman, shot to death James Lannigan, a small-time thug, on October 30, 1944, an action for which he was acquitted. In…

Casino History Did You Know? Eli Francovich Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Reno City Council (NV) Reno--Nevada United States Wheel of Fortune Wine House (Reno, NV)

Quick Fact - Engendering Envy

1929 When the only types of legal gambling in Nevada were poker, five hundred, solo, whist, parimutuel betting on horse races and slot machines with restrictions, owner Eli Francovich* installed in his Wine House club…

Archie Sneed Assaults Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Elmer West Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm Frank Richardson Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Joseph Hall Lawsuit Military Nevada Palace Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada United States World War II

Lawsuit: You Won't Get Away With It

1945-1946 Alfred E. Cushman entered the Palace Club, in uniform, shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 11, 1945. Prior to that, the recently discharged U.S. Army veteran participated in the Armistice Day parade in…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Harold S. Smith, Sr. Harolds Club (Reno, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Raymond "Pappy" I. Smith Raymond A. Smith Reno--Nevada Sparks--Nevada United States

Quick Fact - Party Palace

1950-1979 The Harolds Club casino, in Reno, Nevada, held an annual winter holiday party for employees at its Harolds Trapshooting Club in the neighboring town of Sparks, on the Pyramid Highway. The fêtes, which featured…

California Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments Gambling Gambling History Gaming History Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada Robbery / Theft / Embezzling San Francisco Police Department--California San Francisco--California U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation United States

Draftsman Gets a Wild Hair … Or Two … Or Three

1952 “Someone very dear to you is being held and will be killed if you don’t give me the money.” This was the content of the note, a bluff, Frederick Charles Will, handed to the…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Games / Races Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada Slot Machines / Fruities United States Win / Jackpot

Quick Fact - Pure Luck

1952 “One of the members of the Journal news staff stopped in at a [Reno, Nevada] casino one night last week, put a nickel in a slot machine and hit the jackpot. The attendant…

21 / Blackjack Casino History Coins--Gold Did You Know? Gambling Gambling History Games / Races Nevada Owning Gold Quick Facts Reno--Nevada United States

Quick Fact - Last to Hear

1940 “Apparently unaware that gold has been forbidden as a medium of exchange, a tall, dark complexioned cowpuncher walked into a [Reno, Nevada] gambling club last night and startled the dealer by casually dropping a…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Estate Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Jack Sullivan / John D. Scarlett Nevada Reno--Nevada United States Willows (Reno, NV)

An Inside Look at Late Gambler's Estate

1951 Canada-born Jack Sullivan, né John D. Scarlett, had co-owned and run the Bank Club for two decades and prior to that, the Willows (it burned down in 1932) — both Reno, Nevada casino hotspots.…

Bankruptcies Casino History Clifford Jones Club Cal-Neva (Reno, NV) Club Cal-Neva Inc. Earl Snyder Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Internal Revenue Service It Really Happened James "Jim" Contratto Joe Wells Las Vegas--Nevada Marion Hicks Nevada Reno--Nevada Saddle Club (Las Vegas, NV) Sanford Adler Shutdowns Silver Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Spinning Wheel Corporation Tahoe Biltmore (Crystal Bay, NV) Tax Evasion The Westerner (Las Vegas, NV) United States

IRS Swoops Down on Casino Cash

1955-1956 At 9:15 a.m. on Friday, November 11, 1955, eight U.S. IRS agents entered the Club Cal-Neva in Reno, Nevada, demanding payment of $65,000 (about $600,000 today) in overdue withholding and excise taxes. When the…