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“One of the best casino biographies I have seen. Meticulous detail, well researched, and by far the most detailed account yet of the twisted history that the operation deserves. … Your account is superb.”
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Old Tales of Nevada
IT REALLY HAPPENED!
This blog brings to life compelling and true casino- and gambling-related stories, from around the world, between 1800 and 2000.
"Wild Finish of Naughty Nevada"
1910 Nevada was to cease all gambling operations and activity by midnight September 30, 1910* per a new law, already passed.** The final night, a Friday, was unlike any other before. “Nevada is determined to be good, even if the last remnant of the old west, in which the Brooklyn and Westchester school of fiction […]
Gambling Cheaters Use Check Cop for Palming
\ “Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks.” That statement not only applied to Felix the Cat but also held true for many gambling cheaters during the 19th and 20th centuries in the U.S. One of their go-to aids was called check cop or sure cop (“cop” meaning […]
A Legal Battle: Card Counters vs. Nevada Casinos
1977-1979 As Mark Estes, 28, played blackjack at a table in Nevada’s Las Vegas Hilton casino one day, he counted the cards. This involved remembering the cards dealt during each game and using a mathematical formula to calculate the odds of success of betting on any given hand. Suddenly, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas […]
5 Mobster-Gamblers Do Time in Alcatraz Prison
In addition to Alphonse (“Al”/”Scarface”) Capone, a handful of men separately involved in illegal gambling in the States wound up confined in the United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island for another crime. The maximum security, federal prison opened in 1934 on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles from the coast of San Francisco, California. The facility housed 1,576 […]
Enjoy the Web’s premier source of fact-based gambling and casino history.
While you peruse the content, know that all of it’s been researched and vetted for accuracy as much as possible. Source lists are provided.
All components of the site are works in progress, updated regularly.
Enthralled by Bugsy, Capone, Lanksy, Costello, Luciano, et. al?
The Mobsters section is dedicated to these and similar notables — organized crime members involved in gambling. Bet you a cold beer or a hot latte you can’t ID everyone in the gallery.
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