1928 A woman named Gladys Anderson sued the McGill Club in McGill, Nevada for $5,000, which she claimed her husband had lost there playing poker. The district court, however, dismissed her case because it lacked a cause of action (a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue and receive compensation from another…
Early 1900s In The Silver State (Nevada), casinos hired men for the sole job of picking up dice that rolled off the game tables. Only these workers were allowed to touch the cubes to keep cheaters from swapping them with crooked ones.
1928 Countless people died and an estimated 10,000 people lost their homes due to a ferocious fire started in a Chinese gambling den that razed a major street in the heavily populated city of Hankow. Numerous people drowned when they jumped into ponds to escape.
1961 In Nevada, where casino operators can employ shills to play in their clubs, it was established that a licensee may not act as a shill, gambling in their own establishment. Their spouse can’t either unless playing with money other than the licensee’s personal funds. Photo from freeimages.com: by Tanya Harding
1889 Nevada passed a law mandating that gambling houses couldn’t open any earlier than 6 a.m. and couldn’t close any later than midnight. The sentence for violation was a $200 to $500 fine and/or 30 days to six months’ jail time. Photo from freeimages.com: “Clocks” by bayek
1937 The director of the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal agency that employed individuals to construct public works projects, informed all Nevada workers that it wouldn’t tolerate “gambling, drinking or other unnecessary expenditure.” Those discovered using their earnings that way would be fired.
1971 Adult magazine publisher Hugh Hefner announced to the media that in two years’ time, Nevada would be home to a Playboy casino in either Las Vegas or on Lake Tahoe’s South Shore. It didn’t happen, though, for 35 years until, in 2006, the Playboy Club — a hybrid casino and lounge — debuted in the…
1950 The Truckee River in downtown Reno, Nevada overflowed, the raging waters swelling high enough to deluge nearby businesses. One was the Riverside hotel where 4+ feet of water amassed in the casino, restaurant and lobby. Photo from freeimages.com: by John Watkin
1976 The Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California ruled any tips, or tokes, that individuals give to casino dealers is a form of taxable income. Photos from freeimages.com: by Gustavo Ribeiro de Mello
1869, 1877, 1905 The 1869 statute partially legalizing gambling in Nevada prohibited any such operations in first floor rooms. An 1877 revision allowed gambling in back rooms of a ground level in certain small counties. In 1905 and on, gamblers statewide could hold games in any room on any floor. Photo from freeimages.com, by Andrey…