Gambling History Archives

Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Games / Races: Beano Games / Races: Bingo Games / Races: Creators / Manufacturers: Edwin S. Lowe Massachusetts Quick Facts Tally Ho (Las Vegas, NV) United States

Quick Fact – Beano v. Bingo

1944 “Are you in favor of banning beano when played for prizes?” This was one of Massachusetts’ 1944 ballot questions. By the 1940s, beano — played with beans as markers, hence the name, and popular on…

Casino History Gambling History Gambling: Topless Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board Holiday Hotel (Reno, NV) It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Nevada Attorney General Harvey Dickerson Nevada North Las Vegas--Nevada Silver Nugget (North Las Vegas, NV) United States

Topless Dealers: Brainchild of Nevada Casino

1966 The Silver Nugget casino announced it would debut topless, female, 21 (blackjack) dealers during the midnight to 8 a.m. shift. This, too, was the gist of the complaints the Nevada attorney general (A.G.) received…

Arkansas Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Hot Springs--Arkansas Politicians / Politics: Kefauver Committee Quick Facts United States

Quick Fact – Kefauver in Hot Springs

1924 Senator Carey “Estes” Kefauver (D-Tenn.), the driving force behind rooting out illegal gambling and organized crime in the United States in the 1950s with his famous eponymous committee, decades earlier had taught math and…

California Casino at Tallac (South Lake Tahoe, CA) Casino History Elias "Lucky" Jackson Baldwin Gambling Gambling History Gambling: Illegal Gaming History It Really Happened Nathaniel "Nat" Carl Goodwin South Lake Tahoe--California United States

Wealthy Californians Frequent Illegal Lake Tahoe Casino

1902-1927 Touted as “the finest clubhouse west of the Rocky Mountains,” the Casino at Tallac debuted at Lake Tahoe’s South Shore in California in July 1902 despite gambling having been illegal in the state since…

Accidents: Plane Crashes California Casino History Did You Know? Gambling History Gaming History Nevada Quick Facts San Francisco--California

Quick Fact – Gambling Trip Turns Dicey

1957 In 1957, Club Primadonna chartered passengers to and from San Francisco to the Reno, Nevada casino on “champagne tours.” On the September 28 return flight, delayed from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. due to…

Casino History Chicago--Illinois Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Torture Estelle Carey Gambling Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Nicholas Deani "Nick Dean" Circella United States William "Willie" M. Bioff

“Dice Girl” Rolls Horrendous Fate

1943 In the mid-afternoon of Tuesday, February 2, 1943, smoke emanating from a third-story apartment in Lakeview, Illinois led to the discovery of a woman dead inside — her face, head and neck mutilated, her…

Casino de la Vallée (Saint-Vincent, Italy) Casino History Did You Know? Europe Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Roulette Gaming History Italy Quick Facts Saint-Vincent--Italy Sean Connery

Quick Fact – Good Things Come in 3s

1963 On his third spin of the roulette wheel, having bet on the number 17, actor/producer Sir Sean Connery won, not just once, but thrice … in a row. With this wager, he raked in…