gambling license Archives

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Games / Races: Spindle It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada United States

Spindle Tricksters Clean Up

1906 A sextet of flimflammers arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in December, set up at the corner of Main and Fremont Streets and began separating the locals from their money. ” … the spindle was…

Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations: NV Anti-Lottery Law Games / Races: Lotteries/Sweepstakes It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Opportunity Club (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada

The Chain Letter Of The Law

1935 Although it was a Ponzi scheme, its lure of big money was too strong for many Renoites to resist. One chain letter business, the Opportunity Club, popped up overnight as part of the nationwide…

Emigrant Pass Ernest Dennison Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Tax Commission It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: NV Attorney General Alan Bible Law Enforcement / Judicial System: NV Police Superintendent Lester C. Moody Nevada Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Vail Pittman Roadside Zoos (Nevada)

Too Cozy With Illegal Gamblers

1948 A real or perceived protective relationship with illegal gambling operators got Nevada police superintendent, Lester C. Moody, fired. Governor Vail Pittman, who’d appointed Moody to the position two years before, terminated him in…

California Embassy Club (Gardena, CA) Ernest "Ernie" J. Primm Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations: CA Anti-Gambling Act Games / Races: Poker Gardena--California It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Monterey Club (Gardena, CA) Politicians / Politics: CA California Attorney General Ulysses Webb United States

Webb's Wacky War On Poker

1936-Present If it weren’t for gambler Ernest J. Primm’s nerve and fortitude, California’s nearly 90 card clubs wouldn’t exist today. With a gambling license from the city of Gardena (in Los Angeles County), he opened…

Allen Smiley Club Savoy (Las Vegas, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambling Laws / Regulations Games / Races: Craps It Really Happened Jack Durant Las Vegas--Nevada Louis "Russian Louie" Strauss Norman Khoury

Dirty Dealings in Las Vegas

1949-1953 Only months after Cleveland bar owner, Norman Khoury’s 1949 acquisition of Club Savoy in Las Vegas, Nevada, California mobster/gambler Allen Smiley, an associate of the then-deceased Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, unexpectedly approached him. Smiley introduced…

Belle Livingstone Belle Livingstone George Wingfield It Really Happened James "Jim/Cinch" C. McKay Nathan "Nick" Abelman Prohibition Reno--Nevada The Cowshed (Reno, NV) William "Bill/Curly" J. Graham

Livingstone Taunts Mob With Cowshed

1931 Belle Livingstone wasn’t the typical Nevada gambling club owner. She’d acted on the stage and screen in the 1890s. She’d mingled with royalty and wealth in Europe and the United States. During Prohibition, she’d…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Ernest Dennison Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck It Really Happened Nevada

Animals Run Roadside Zoos

1940s A spate of “roadside zoos” opened along various Nevada highways, typically in rural areas, during the late 1940s. The owners were hustlers who lured unsuspecting tourists onto their grounds with the promise of seeing…

00 (Double-0) Club (Las Vegas, NV) Arcade (Las Vegas, NV) Arizona Club (Las Vegas, NV) Block 16--Nevada California Hotel-Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Gambling Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Gem (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Prohibition Red Onion (Las Vegas, NV) Sin City (Las Vegas) Star (Las Vegas, NV) Turf (Las Vegas, NV)

Block 16: Sin City's Early Days

1905-1941 Imagine in the early 1900s, a block about the length of a football field, in the Mojave Desert in Nevada where gambling, drinking and prostitution prevailed free from law enforcement’s intrusion, and where fights…

Aladdin Resort & Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Did You Know? Gambling License Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Publisher Unsuitable

1967 New York publisher, Lyle Stuart, applied to the Nevada Gaming Commission for a gambling license to purchase 1 percent of the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $25,000 ($178,000 today).…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Grafting Gambling Gambling License Games / Races: Panguingue Games / Races: Poker George "Tex" Rickard It Really Happened Rawhide--Nevada The Northern (Rawhide, Nevada)

Lawmen Run Amok in Rawhide

1908 Two deputy sheriffs in the mining camp of Rawhide, Nevada,* were on the take. For a regularly paid fee, they allowed establishments to operate legal games without a license and/or run banned ones as well.…

California Gambling Gambling Laws / Regulations Games / Races: Lotteries/Sweepstakes Games / Races: Sports Betting It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Reno--Nevada San Quentin State Prison (CA)

In the Name of Charity

1937 The Great American Football Pool (GAFP) of 1937 was to be of massive scale and the first of its kind in the U.S. The organizers aimed to sell 3 million tickets at $1 apiece…

Gambling License Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board It Really Happened Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Nevada

Bull's Eye on the Gambling Industry

1955 It’s hard to believe this ever happened in Nevada. As an emergency measure, the state government approved a temporary moratorium on issuing gambling licenses. It was to last five months, until 30 days after…

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…

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…