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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.
Subject of Gambling Escapes Hollywood Movie Censors in 1930s
1935 Hollywood movie studios released more than a handful of gambling-related movies in 1935. This seemed unusual given the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America’s (MPPDA) recent re-commitment to ensuring movies didn’t contain content it considered risqué. Impetus Behind the Code The MMPDA — today, the Motion Picture Association — adopted the Motion Picture […]
Brazilian Game of Chance Starts as a Business Promotion
1890s-Today A way to drum up business for a failing zoo in the late 19th century, reportedly, quickly evolved into and, to this day, remains an enormously popular game of chance among Brazilians: jogo do bicho. Zoological Pursuit In 1884, Rio de Janeiro businessman João Batista Viana Drummond (1825-1897) purchased what remained of the Fazenda […]
Quick Fact - Poem About <i>S.S. Monte Carlo</i> is Attack on Gambling Industry
1938 In the following verse, penned about the S.S. Monte Carlo following its demise, the writer Ida Clarise Gowan uses a hostile, derogatory and accusatory tone. She personifies, or gives human qualities to, the ship, such as being greedy and taking advantage of people. Gowan, then a Coronado, California resident, employs hyperbole by incorporating words […]
Fate of the <i>S.S. Monte Carlo</i> Gambling Ship
1932-Today Though local, state and federal authorities were working to eradicate all gambling ships moored off of the Pacific Coast, the S.S. Monte Carlo met its demise at the hands of an unexpected interloper, Mother Nature. On a Stormy Night On New Year’s Eve in 1936, the waterborne casino, closed for the winter, offshore of […]
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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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