gaming history Archives

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Games / Races: 21 / Blackjack Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Horseshoe Club / Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened The Ramada Hotel Casino (Reno, NV) United States Virginia City--Nevada

The Faro Fadeaway

1825-1958 The hottest game in the Old West between 1825 and 1915, faro is pretty much extinct in the United States today. If you’ve never heard of it — and you aren’t alone there —…

Bluebell Girls Did You Know? Entertainment Las Vegas Strip / S. Las Vegas Boulevard Quick Facts Stardust (Las Vegas, NV)

1958 Sixteen glamazon, primarily English dancers from Paris’ Lido Club troupe were imported to open Las Vegas’ Stardust hotel-casino. The Bluebell Girls’ show broke all attendance records; about 1,400 people left the gaming tables and…

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…

Did You Know? Entertainment Ethnic Groups: African Americans International Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas Hilton (Las Vegas, NV) Las Vegas--Nevada Natalie Cole Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Natalie Cole

1976 Natalie Cole made her Nevada performance debut at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino (formerly the International Hotel) on a double bill with Bill Cosby in April.

Caesars Palace (Las Vegas, NV) Frank Sinatra Gambling Games / Races: Baccarat Howard Hughes It Really Happened Las Vegas--Nevada Sands (Las Vegas, NV)

Frank Sinatra's Hissy Fits

1967 & 1970 Apparently, the beloved crooner Frank Sinatra, Sr. had a temper, which he sometimes unleashed when casino operators denied him additional, excessive amounts of credit when gambling. In one instance when Sinatra lost…

Did You Know? Entertainment Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts Royal Nevada (Las Vegas, NV)

Quick Fact - Dancing Waters

1955 A dancing waters routine at the new Royal Nevada hotel-casino upstaged big-money entertainers — Carmen Miranda, Danny Thomas, Liberace and others — in Las Vegas, Nevada. The five fountains of colored water (30 tons…

Club 86 (Miami, FL) Florida Gambling Games / Races: Chemin de Fer Games / Races: Chuck-a-luck Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Roulette It Really Happened

Swanky Miami Casino-Fortress

1945-1950 Although gambling was illegal in Miami, Florida, in the 1940s, one lavish casino operated there for five years with the blessing of the local sheriff. Club 86, on Biscayne Boulevard, which belonged to local…

California Did You Know? Gambling Games / Races: Sports Betting Quick Facts Texas

Quick Fact - Train Hustlers

1935 Stanford University’s (California) Indians and Southern Methodist University’s (Texas) Mustangs were to vie in the Rose Bowl football game on New Year’s Day, and this meant trains of people traveling from The Lone Star State to…

Gambling It Really Happened Nevada

Gambling Addiction Support: The Early Days

1958-present Las Vegas, Nevada resident Howie C. had gambled so much during the 1950s and ’60s that he owed banks, finance companies and loan sharks. He often had borrowed money from his mom and even…

Casino, Gambling Saloon, Card Club, Slot Route Owners / Operators / Licensees / Gamblers Casinos / Gambling Saloons / Card Clubs / Slot Routes / Wire Services / Hotels / Racetracks / Racinos Did You Know? Gambling Games / Races: Bingo Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Playing Incentives

1947 To keep players gambling at their clubs, Las Vegas, Nevada casinos boosted incentives with offerings such as double odds on craps, bingo prizes of $1,000 ($10,900 today), extra slot machine jackpots and brand new…