murder Archives

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Dallas--Texas Gambling Gambling History Games / Races: Poker Gaming History It Really Happened Lester "Benny" Binion Meyer Lansky Nevada United States

10 Intriguing Facts About Gambling Kingpin “Benny” Binion

Today Although Texas-born Lester B. “Benny” Binion (1904-1989) no longer is with us, he remains a legend among Las Vegas casino owners and operators — gamblers, in industry parlance. Iconic even in his appearance —…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling History Gambling Laws / Regulations: NV Regulation 25 Gambling License Gambling: Junkets Gaming History Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Commission Governing / Regulatory Bodies: Nevada Gaming Control Board Hawaii It Really Happened Nevada United States

Crooks Exploit Gambling Junkets

1969-present When executives of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada hosted 12 people from Kansas City in 1969 as part of a gambling junket, it unexpectedly backfired. When their guests, after four days at the…

California Casino History Charles Cora Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Firearms Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Hanging Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Fort Gunnybags (San Francisco, CA) Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System Law Enforcement / Judicial System: General William Richardson Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Vigilance Committee San Francisco--California United States

California Faro Dealer Loses It … All

1855-1856 Charles and Arabella “Bell” Cora were a colorful, rich and well-known San Francisco couple whose lives jolted into misfortune one Saturday night in 1855. He, 39, had made his money from dealing faro in…

Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder It Really Happened

Gambling Defeat Leads to Calamity

1915-1935 James “Jimmy” Sidney Rogan, an active student and football player, was well liked by the principal of his high school in Tonopah, a mining boom town halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. In 1915,…

00 (Double-0) Club (Las Vegas, NV) Arcade (Las Vegas, NV) Arizona Club (Las Vegas, NV) Block 16--Nevada California Hotel-Casino (Las Vegas, NV) Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling Games / Races: Craps Games / Races: Faro Games / Races: Poker Games / Races: Roulette Gem (Las Vegas, NV) It Really Happened Prohibition Red Onion (Las Vegas, NV) Sin City Star (Las Vegas, NV) Turf (Las Vegas, NV)

Block 16: Sin City’s Early Days

1905-1941 Imagine in the early 1900s, a block about the length of a football field, in the Mojave Desert in Nevada where gambling, drinking and prostitution prevailed free from law enforcement’s intrusion, and where fights…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Did You Know? Quick Facts

Quick Fact – Siegel’s Estate

1955 When presumed-to-be-wealthy mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, was slain at age 41, the estate he left was worth $35,609 (about $314,550 today). Before his murder, Siegel co-financed and oversaw completion of the Flamingo hotel-casino in…

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel California Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Frank Nitti It Really Happened Meyer Lansky Mobsters / Gangsters / Syndicate Members (Alleged) Movies / Movie Stars / Entertainers / Celebrities

Movie Starlet Murdered by Mobster?

1934-1935 Today, 80 years later, the circumstances of actress Thelma Todd’s death remain a mystery, and the case still is one of Hollywood’s infamous unsolveds. A deep cover-up precluded the truth about the incident from…

California Casino History Casino: Floating Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Lawsuit Nick Licata Peter J. Milano San Fernando Valley--California United States

Los Angeles Mobster’s Gambling Ring

1971-1974 In 1971, various people began complaining to the local police department they’d gotten fleeced at an informal casino setup in California’s San Fernando Valley (yes, the location of, like, “valley girl” fame, a culture…

Bartley "Bart" J. Smithson Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Ely--Nevada Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: Officer Herbert "Burt" D. Long Nevada Palace Club (Ely, NV) United States

Gambler Destroys the Peace … Officer

1932 At about 4:30 on a Sunday morning, a drunk Bartley “Bart” J. Smithson was target practicing in the Palace Club, shooting at a spittoon and a silver dollar with a 0.38 Smith & Wesson…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened Law Enforcement / Judicial System: El Dorado County Sheriff Ernest Carlson--California Nevada Stateline--Nevada

Murder Mystery at South Shore

1958-1959 Clarence Thayer grew ill with flu-like symptoms on Thanksgiving Day in 1958 while visiting his sister in Oakland, California. He was a well drilling contractor who lived in South Lake Tahoe. He and his…

Casino History Crimes / Violence / Punishments: Murder Gambling History Gaming History It Really Happened John "Johnny" W. Hicks Nevada United States

Dangerous Liaisons in Sin City

1972-1977 A $25,000 ($146,000 today) offer for the murder of 27-year-old John “Johnny” W. Hicks had been circulated, it was rumored throughout Las Vegas in mid-1972. The son of Marion B. Hicks, previous owner of…

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…