Quick Fact - Big Numbers
Mid-1870s Virginia City, Nevada, at the peak of the mining boom when the population was about 18,000, boasted one gambling house for every 150 people. That’s 120 of these places, primarily saloons! Some of the…
Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV)
Gambling: Debt
It Really Happened
Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder
Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Nathan "Nate" S. Jacobson
Let's Get Ready to Rumble
1975 In the spring, Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, a Las Vegas oddsmaker and bookie, allegedly punched, knocked down and kicked casino magnate, Nathan “Nate” S. Jacobson, in a Caesars Palace hallway in a confrontation over…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting
Did You Know?
Frank Bompensiero
Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno
Los Angeles-California
Mickey Cohen
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Gangster's Obsession
1948 Mickey Cohen (né Meyer Harris Cohen) — violent Los Angeles, California mobster and gambling kingpin with ties to Bugsy Siegel and the Flamingo in Las Vegas, Nevada — suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder that led…
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Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club Fronts / Workers / Bookmakers / Dealers
Harold S. Smith, Sr.
Harolds Club (Reno, NV)
It Really Happened
Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas--Nevada
Reno--Nevada
Men Please Do Not Apply
1937-1970 Card dealing was a male-dominated profession in Nevada’s casinos until 1937, when Harolds Club, in Reno, put the first woman at a 21 table to deal. Co-owner Harold Smith previously had been hiring women,…
Did You Know?
Elvis Presley
Entertainment
International Hotel (Las Vegas, NV)
Las Vegas--Nevada
Quick Facts
Quick Fact - Good Luck Charm
1969 Elvis Presley was one of the first headliners at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. His performances began a record-breaking run of 837 sold-out shows at the spot over the ensuing seven years. In his…
California
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion
Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV)
Gambling: Bookmaking
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Internal Revenue Service
Hy Goldbaum
It Really Happened
Las Vegas--Nevada
McNeil Island Corrections Center (WA)
Stardust (Las Vegas, NV)
West Hollywood--California
Bookies' Bookies Not So Good With Numbers
1945-1955 In the late 1940s, three bookies — or commissioners, as they preferred to be called — operated on California’s Sunset Strip in West Hollywood under the name, Golden News Service. Hy Goldbaum, George Capri…
Quick Fact - Women, Oh, No!
1905 A Las Vegas, Nevada newspaper commented on the increasing popularity of gambling among ladies: “Gambling made fashionable among women is a rather serious matter. It is bad enough among men, but when the mania…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling
Elko--Nevada
It Really Happened
Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV)
Stockmen's Hotel (Elko, NV)
Casino Criminal Loses Control
1954 Late on a Saturday night in 1954, during the peak of business, an unemployed, 27-year-old railroad hand entered the Stockmen’s Hotel in Elko, Nevada where townspeople, miners, ranchers and tourists congregated to socialize, drink and…
Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Bombings
Did You Know?
Harrah's (Reno, NV)
Quick Facts
Reno--Nevada
Quick Fact - Gutsy Granny
1972 A 71-year-old, wheelchair-bound, California grandmother, Susan Ellyn Reid, who had a long rap sheet and various aliases, entered Harrahs Club in Reno, Nevada in July carrying a box. She gave casino personnel a typed…
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…
Quick Fact - Wild Justice
1890 Judge Beckley Campbell conducted court in a Benicia, California saloon. After hearing the evidence and deciding on a verdict in cases, he meted out punishments based on the result of tossing two dice in…
Desert Inn (Las Vegas, NV)
Gambling Laws / Regulations
Gambling Laws / Regulations: Nevada's Black Book / Excluded Person List
Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board
It Really Happened
John "The Bat" Battaglia
Las Vegas--Nevada
Louis Tom Dragna
Marshall Caifano / Johnny Marshall
Nevada
Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Grant Sawyer
Nevada's Black Book: Civil Rights Violation?
1960-1967 Los Angeles mobsters, Louis Tom Dragna and John “The Bat” Battaglia, conversed in a hotel-casino cocktail lounge on the Las Vegas Strip one day in February 1960. But their visit was cut short when…
Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers
Did You Know?
Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck
Games / Races: Faro
Quick Fact - Tinhorn Gambler
Today/1888 A “tinhorn gambler,” according to several dictionaries, refers to a game of chance operator who pretends to have money, ability or influence. The phrase is said to come from people who set up chuck-a-luck games…
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…
Quick Fact - Stevens' Jewelry
1970 When Connie Stevens, entertainer, departed after a stay at the Kings Castle hotel-casino in Incline Village, Nevada, she accidentally left $20,000 ($122,000 today) worth of jewelry in her suite. Linda Cooley, a housekeeping team…
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…