gaming history Archives

Canada Did You Know? Games / Races: Faro Quick Facts Yukon

Quick Fact - Yukon's Faro

1968 The town of Faro in the Yukon (northwestern Canada) was named after the card game of chance, which was popular there during the days of the Klondike Gold Rush between 1896 and 1899.

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

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…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Did You Know? Games / Races: Faro Quick Facts Tonopah Club (Tonopah, NV) Tonopah--Nevada

Quick Fact - Tunnel Thief

1904 An industrious individual tunneled beneath the Tonopah Club in Tonopah, Nevada, cut a hole through the casino floor and stole $1,000 in gold and silver from the box under the faro table – all…

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: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Shooting Desert Club (Tonopah, NV) Gambling It Really Happened Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV) Tonopah--Nevada

Unforeseen Perils of Gambling

1920 It was 3 a.m. on a Monday. About 15 men were gambling in the Desert Club. One who’d been there all night, sitting alone, watching and waiting to make his move was George Strickland.…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Did You Know? Gambling Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Las Vegas--Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Cheating Course

1961 A Southern Nevada business offered to teach individuals, for a flat fee of $3,000 ($24,000 today), various ways to successfully cheat slot machines. Photo from freeimages.com

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Cheating / Fleecing Gambling Currency: Coins Gambling Laws / Regulations It Really Happened Nevada Politicians / Politics: NV Governor Charles Russell Sparks--Nevada

Loophole in the Law

1955 When Nevada legislators legalized gambling in 1931, they didn’t consider one significant caveat. The omission came to light in January 1955 when an industrious Las Vegas casino patron was arrested for using Mexican 10…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Did You Know? Flamingo (Las Vegas, NV) Gambler (Operators/Players): Estate Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Siegel's Estate

1955 When presumed-to-be-wealthy mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, was slain at age 41, the estate he left was worth $35,609 (about $314,550 today). Before his murder, Siegel co-financed and oversaw completion of the Flamingo hotel-casino in…

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.…

Did You Know? Gambling Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Peephole Vetting

1931 Even after wide-open gambling became legal in Nevada, many of the exclusive clubs continued to vet the people who wanted entry. Someone inside the establishment would look through the peephole in the door and…

Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel (Tijuana, Mexico) Casino de Mexicali (Mexicali, Mexico) Casino: Corporations: ABW Corp. Casino: Takeovers Feria Típica (Tijuana, Mexico) Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Baccarat Games / Races: Bull Fighting Games / Races: Cockfighting Games / Races: Dog Racing Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Horse Racing Games / Races: Keno Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities It Really Happened Mexico Monte Carlo (Tijuana, Mexico) Movies / Movie Stars / Entertainers / Celebrities Owl Cafe and Theatre (Calexico, Mexico) Politicians / Politics: Baja, CA Governor Esteban Cantu Prohibition Sunset Inn (Tijuana, Mexico)

Americans Head South Para Apostar

1913-1929 With various state bans on gambling and, later, a nationwide prohibition against liquor, many Americans, particularly wealthy Southern Californians, traveled to casinos in Mexican border cities to play and imbibe. “The great hegira* is in,…

Did You Know? Games / Races: Slot Machines / Fruities Nevada Quick Facts

Quick Fact - Store Slots

1967 Nevada legislators proposed a bill that would disallow any future installation of slot machines in grocery and drug stores. It died, though, in the Senate Taxation Committee.

Bobby Garcia Carl "Cork" Civella Gambling Laws / Regulations: Nevada's Black Book / Excluded Person List Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board It Really Happened Joe Sica John "The Bat" Battaglia Louis Tom Dragna Marshall Caifano / Johnny Marshall Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) / Organizations Motel Grzebienacy Murray "The Hump"/"The Camel" Humphreys Nevada Nick Civella Sam "Momo" Giancana

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