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…
Quick Fact - Hankow Fire
1928 Countless people died and an estimated 10,000 people lost their homes due to a ferocious fire started in a Chinese gambling den that razed a major street in the heavily populated city of Hankow.…
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…
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…
The Ghost Casino's Disappearance
1937-1947 The bustle and liveliness of this casino have long been dead. All that remains is a specter of the club’s former self in the form of a rundown, abandoned building — a state befitting…
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…
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…
Did You Know?
Lake Tahoe--Nevada
Las Vegas--Nevada
Palms Casino Resort (Las Vegas, NV)
Playboy Club (Las Vegas, NV)
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Playboy Casino
1971 Adult magazine publisher Hugh Hefner announced to the media that in two years’ time, Nevada would be home to a Playboy casino in either Las Vegas or on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. It didn’t…
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
Hollywood Sex Symbol's Missteps
1930 Silent film star, Clara Bow, spent one September evening in 1930 playing illegal gambling games at a Lake Tahoe, Nevada casino. Both winning and losing at roulette, craps, 21 and the dice game, chuck-a-luck,…
Gambling
Gambling Laws / Regulations
Gambling: Shills
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
It Really Happened
Nevada
Rolo Casino (Reno, NV)
Gambling Decoys: Shills, Proposition Players
1947-1979 “Neat appearing girls from 21 to 25 to shill and learn to deal games at Rolo Casino, 14 E. Commercial Row,” read a Help Wanted ad in the Nevada State Journal (June 6, 1947) for…
Quick Fact - First Floor
1869, 1877, 1905 The 1869 statute partially legalizing gambling in Nevada prohibited any such operations in first floor rooms. An 1877 revision allowed gambling in back rooms of a ground level in certain small counties.…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing
Gambling
Gambling Currency: Coins
Gambling Currency: Coins: Brass
Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack
Games / Races: Panguingue
Games / Races: Poker
Games / Races: Roulette
Games / Races: Tonk
It Really Happened
Nevada
Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV)
Gambling in the Pokey
1932-1967 Inmates strutted around the Nevada State Prison yard and jingled the brass coins or tokens, in their pockets, to boast their elevated status as winning gamblers of the pen. Beginning in 1932, convicts ran…