nevada history Archives

Advertisements Casino History Gambling History Harolds Club (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

Place For a Roaring Good Time

1949 The Smiths, who owned and operated Harolds Club in Reno, Nevada appropriately named their casino Roaring Camp. Generally, a roaring camp was “a gold-prospecting camp characterized by wild behavior, unrestrained drinking and gambling,” according…

California Casino History Events: 1953 California State Fair Gaming History Harrah's (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

An Offer That Was Refused

1953 Harrah’s Club in Reno, Nevada proposed, to event officials, the casino host an exhibit about gambling at the California State Fair. With a backdrop of silver dollars, the display was to contain gambling equipment…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Shills It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada United States

New Shill Doesn't Get It (Or Does He?)

1946 A Reno, Nevada casino hired a man, new to the city and gambling, as a shill. (A shill is paid to play games in a gambling house to entice others around to do the…

Casino History David J. Funk Gambling History Gambling: Parimutuel Games / Races: Dog Racing Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Racing Commission Henderson--Nevada It Really Happened Las Vegas Downs Inc. Nevada Nevada Turf and Kennel Club Reno Speedway (at Lawton's Hot Springs) (Reno, NV) United States

Gambling on Live Dog Races in Nevada

1938-Today Bets placed, spectators occupy the stands, waiting. Anticipation, excitement fill the air. Finally, the get-ready bell dings, and the crowd quickly quiets. The start signal sounds. The gates open. Out lunge the competitors, into…

Advertisements Advertisements: Advertising Agencies: Hoefer Advertisements: Advertising Agencies: Thomas C. Wilson Advertising Co. Advertisements: Advertising Agencies: Wallie Warren & Associates Casino History Casino: Corporations: Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Dieterich & Brown Inc. Gambling History Gaming History Harrah's (Reno, NV) Harrah's Lake Tahoe (Stateline, NV) It Really Happened Lake Tahoe--Nevada Nevada Reno--Nevada Stateline--Nevada United States William "Bill" F. Harrah

Bill Harrah Steals Harolds Club's Ad Formula

1937-1970s For Harrah’s, which debuted in Reno in 1937 as a bingo parlor, extensive advertising was key to its growth into one of Nevada’s largest gambling empires by the 1970s.* However, owner/operator William “Bill” Fisk…

Abner "Longie" Zwillman Arrowhead Inn (Saratoga Springs, NY) California Casino History Charles "Lucky" Luciano Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Assaults Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Fraud Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Robbery / Theft / Embezzling Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Tax Evasion Ethnic Groups: Jewish Americans Frank Sinatra Gambling History Games / Races: Games Creators / Manufacturers: Runyon Sales Co. Gaming History It Really Happened Joseph "Doc" Stacher Meyer Lansky National Crime Syndicate Nevada New Jersey New York United States

10 Intriguing Facts about Mobster-Gambler Joseph "Doc" Stacher

Joseph “Doc” Stacher (born Gdale Oistaczer, 1902-1977) was a “a genial, shrewd, witty gent” who could be “homicidally tough,” wrote “Voice of Broadway” columnist Jack O’Brian (Monroe News-Star, March 17, 1977). Closely aligned with fellow…

A.L. Mason B.F. Bailey C.C. Cox Casino History Gambling History Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro It Really Happened Louvre (Reno, NV) Nevada Oberon (Reno, NV) Reno--Nevada United States

Early On, The Louvre Suffers Typical Gambling Business Woes

1900-1906 A snapshot of six early years of one popular gambling-saloon in Reno, Nevada spotlights some of the problems these establishments routinely faced: on-site crime, financial troubles, crooked games and changes in both owners and…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Gambling Fred Heier Gambling History Gambling: Symbols: Johnny Ox Games / Races: Poker Gaming History Indiana Indianapolis--Indiana It Really Happened Jack Shea T. Thompson aka Johnny Ox United States William "Bill" Kissel

It Really Happened! Investigates: Who is "Johnny Ox?"

1903 “Accommodation for Johnny Ox,” a gambling-related headline in the Nevada State Journal, March 17, 1903, puzzled us. Curious (read: obsessive), we set out to decipher it. The brief news item relayed two gambling saloons…

Carlton Bar (Reno, NV) Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder / Killing Franz Gersich Gambling History Gaming History George Delich It Really Happened Nevada Reno--Nevada Sam Delich United States

Pharmacy Student Travels to Nevada for Exam, Leaves in Body Bag

1946-1947 When police arrived at the alley behind the Carlton Bar in Reno just after midnight on May 16, 1946, they found an unconscious man lying on the ground, covered in blood. An American Legion…

Casino History Casino: Corporations: National Jokereno Inc. Casino: Openings Games / Races: Jokereno Gaming History It Really Happened Jokereno Club Nevada Reno--Nevada United States W.F. Bolte William A. De Vellier William J. Hackett

The Brief Tale of Jokereno, Game and Club, in "The Biggest Little City"

1931-1932 In 1931, the year Nevada legalized gambling on a wide open basis, the state’s major metropolis Reno saw the introduction of the game of chance jokereno and the namesake place offering it commercially, the…

It Really Happened

War Disables Nevada Tango Club Owners

1941-1952 The 1941 breakout of war between the U.S. and Japan started a series of deleterious events for Nevada’s first tango parlor Reno Club, Inc. and its proprietors. These included a tangle with a newcomer…

Carson City--Nevada Casino Casino History Gambling History Hyatt Hotels Corp. Incline Village--Nevada Kings Castle (Incline Village, NV) Nathan "Nate" S. Jacobson Nevada Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact -- Lady Godiva Trots to New Residence

Lady Godiva has a new address. Looking gorgeous in a long blue dress, she and her horse distinctively embellish the front yard of a Carson City home. Godiva appears as though she’s arriving for a…