United States Archives

Boulder Club (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Clara Bow Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Debt Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Louis Cornero Meadows (Las Vegas, NV) Nevada Quick Facts Rex Bell Tony Cornero / Antonio Cornero Stralla United States

Quick Fact - The Hard Way or the Easy Way

1931-1932 Actors Clara Bow and Rex Bell gambled at the Meadows in Las Vegas in summer 1931 and racked up a $1,100 loss (about $18,000 today), for which they left an IOU. By December, the…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Gambling History Gambling License Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board Harvey A. Gross It Really Happened Lake Tahoe--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nevada Stateline--Nevada United States Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall / Harvey's Wagon Wheel / Harvey's Resort Hotel (Stateline, NV)

8 Twists in Tahoe Gambler's Court Case

1957-1960 In June 1957, a federal grand jury secretly indicted the owners of the Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall (Harvey’s today) at Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada — Harvey A. Gross, and his wife, Llewellyn…

Casino History Did You Know? El Rey Club (Searchlight, NV) Gambling History Gambling: Charters Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Searchlight--Nevada United States Willie Martello

Quick Fact - Desert Getaway

1961 This ad for the El Rey Club invited people to escape one sunny desert town (Palm Springs, California) for another (Searchlight, Nevada), as the enticement ran in the former’s newspaper, The Desert Sun. Owner Willie Martello began…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Assaults Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Extortion Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Gambling History Gaming History Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened John "Johnny" W. Hicks Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Thunderbird (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Dangerous Liaisons in Sin City

1972-1977 A $25,000 ($146,000 today) offer for the murder of 27-year-old John “Johnny” W. Hicks had been circulated, it was rumored throughout Las Vegas in mid-1972. The son of Marion B. Hicks, previous owner of…

California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gambling: Bookmaking Gambling: Raids Gaming History Pasadena--California Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Moonlighting Gig Heats Up

1948 When Pasadena, California vice squad officers got a tip that chef/restaurant owner Paul B. Weston, 56, was sidelining as an illegal bookie, they raided his home and found gambling paraphernalia — where else? —…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts Reno--Nevada United States

Quick Fact - Bygone Courtesy

1919 Outside many of Reno’s gambling saloons were benches, on which club-goers, typically men, whether or not they’d been gambling, were welcome to sleep the night. (At that time, some forms of gambling were legal…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Clark County Sheriff's Office--Nevada Nevada United States

Catching an Impromptu Show in Vegas

1958 Tourists Robert and Lola McDurmon may or may not have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on how you look at it. After taking in four shows on the Las…

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Politicians / Politics: U.S. President John F. Kennedy Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Pall of Mourning

1963 On the Monday after then President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Las Vegas casinos went dark for 17 hours, from 7 a.m. to midnight, in his honor. Along with the gaming rooms in all of…

Bank Club (Reno, NV) Casino History Gambling Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: Streeter Plan for Nevada (Proposed) Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Chicago Crime Commission Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Washoe County D.A.--Nevada Meyer Lansky Myrton "Mert" C. Wertheimer Nevada Politicians / Politics: Jack Streeter Riverside Hotel (Reno, NV) United States

Plan: Eject Mobsters from Nevada Gambling

1954 “If the Streeter suggestion should catch fire and the state took over gambling, it would be the damnedest experiment tried in the United States, and Nevada would have more hoodlums per square block than…

Casa Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) Casino History Casino: Flying Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Flying Casino

1946 Owners of the Casa Vegas gambling club in Southern Nevada, Duke Wiley and Eddie Alias, announced their plan to acquire and convert a surplus, four-engine transport plane into a casino in the air. Slated…

Casino History Gambling Games / Races: Sports Betting Gaming History It Really Happened Nevada Politicians / Politics: U.S. Senator (NV) Patrick "Pat" A. McCarran Reno--Nevada Sports Teams Sports Teams: University of Nevada Wolf Pack United States

Accusation: The Fix is In!

1948 The November 22, 1948 issue of Sports-Week roiled Nevada Wolf Pack fans and supporters. Array of Allegations An article in that edition of the nationally circulated digest charged that the University of Nevada* (UN)…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Casino History Did You Know? Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling History Gaming History Las Vegas--Nevada Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact - Bugsy Siegel's Hidden Safe

1972 Twenty-six years after the gangland assassination of mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and his debut of the Flamingo in Las Vegas, a trap door was discovered in one of the hotel-casino’s offices when the carpet…