Casino Criminal Loses Control

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling, Elko--Nevada, It Really Happened, Nevada State Prison (Carson City, NV), Stockmen's Hotel (Elko, NV)Leave a comment

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 gamble. Silvus Armandus approached the casino cashier’s cage and demanded: “Hand over your money and don’t make a sound.” The…

Unforeseen Perils of Gambling

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--NevadaLeave a comment

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. In his mid-30s and a self-named Wobbly, he’d arrived in Tonopah, Nevada, a few days earlier. Suddenly, he stood, brandished…