1800s To amuse themselves, some miners — California ones, as reported in this case — staged lice fights and waged large sums on the outcome. They placed two Pediculus humanus face to face on a level surface and nudged them forward until their heads touched. Then the battle was on. “Through their large magnifying lenses,…
1941 When Maxwell Kelch applied for call letters for his Las Vegas, Nevada radio station, he requested KLVN as a first choice and KENO as a second, certain the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approve a gambling-related name. The FCC apologetically notified Kelch that KLVN already was in use elsewhere so he’d have to accept using…
1962 How ’bout a game of burro? Fred Carrier, a Stateline, Nevada accountant, developed a gambling game with this name, the concept for which came to him in a nightmare. Based on magnetism, it featured a plastic burro that rotated in the middle of an octagonal table. The player had a choice of betting on which…
1957 After Robert Van Santen and Cecil Lynch’s business partnership in the Las Vegas, Nevada Fortune Club went sour (Lynch broke off to open his own gambling club at the Golden Slot site), the two fought over use of that name for their respective casinos. The dispute led to Van Santen suing Lynch for $100,000…
1908 Johnny-Behind-the-Gat bet more than he should’ve. He was a prospector and miner said to have little common sense, a big temper and a penchant for using his weapon to solve disputes. John Cyty (his real name), in a 12-hour roulette game, bet and lost $75,000 worth of shares (a roughly $2 million value today)…
1950 Las Vegas spent $750,000 a year on advertising (about $7.5 million today). The Chamber of Commerce promoted the town as: “An oasis for the harassed refugees from artificial restraints and laws of other states.“ Photo from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University Libraries’ Digital Collections
1968 For a few months, Harolds Club expanded its exhibited items beyond antique guns and Old West memorabilia. The Reno, Nevada casino displayed a collection of 150 dolls — including the 1930s Shirley Temple — in two areas, flanking the Roaring Camp Bar on the second floor and opposite the elevator on the third level.…
1939 A Fred Martens, or “Fritz the Rooster,” sat at a table in a Las Vegas gambling house playing poker with some men. After a streak of bad luck, he seemed headed for a possible straight. Suddenly, though, he suffered a heart attack and died, right in the chair. One of his opponents yelled to the owner,…
1967 After a demonstration of the game, Nevada gambling regulators, for the first time, allowed pai gow — a Chinese version of dominos — to be offered in its casinos. The clubs with pai gow, however, were required to have a bankroll of $10,000 per game on hand should a patron win big. The New…
1925 Newton “Newt” Crumley, Sr., Goldfield, Nevada resident, met with William Doyle in September to discuss purchasing from him the Commercial Hotel in Elko, but they couldn’t agree on a price. Doyle wanted $5,000 more than what Crumley wanted to pay. No deal was done. A month later, they reconnoitered and, still haggling, flipped a…