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…
1932-1967 Inmates strutted around the Nevada State Prison yard and jingled the brass coins or tokens, in their pockets, to boast their elevated status as winning gamblers of the pen. Beginning in 1932, convicts ran an open casino on the grounds of this maximum security facility in Carson City. The warden allowed and didn’t hide…
1944-1945 In the final year of World War II, three related mandates hampered Nevada’s gambling clubs, but, in general, casinos willingly withstood the hits out of a sense of patriotic duty. These directives, imposed by the United States’ war mobilization agency, followed a national call for roughly 200,000 more “able-bodied men, willing to do hard…
1963 Because another route wasn’t available, in August, ranchers drove more than 200 cattle through the casino section of Stateline, Nevada en route to the bovines’ summer range in the California mountains. Photo from freeimages.com, by Debbie Schiel
1965 The U.S. suffered a shortage of coins in 1965. And that led to decreased business for Nevada’s largest industry — gambling. Usage of half-dollars, common in casinos then for table games and one-armed bandits, experienced the biggest hit. That year, silver supply was scarce and its price high, at $1.29 per ounce. At $1.38,…
Early 1900s Manufacturer B.C. Wills & Company crafted roulette wheels out of one or more woods — boxwood, ebony, rosewood, walnut, Honduras mahogany or satin wood — that were seasoned and kiln dried in a year-long process. Photo: Boyd and Sharon Nickson Cox display this wheel at their Reno, Nevada business, Antiques & Treasures.
1954 A brouhaha over bingo made it a memorable year for gambling at Lake Tahoe. To lure as many tourists as possible into their casinos, numerous operators offered big-ticket prizes for winners at summer’s end (most places closed for the winter months). The Ta-Neva-Ho boasted awarding trips to Mexico and Hawaii; the Cal Vada promoted…
1937 At a time when wide-open gambling was legal in Nevada, the penalty for operating a game of chance without a license was 60 days in the county jail or a $120 fine. Photo from freeimages.com, by Robin Turner
1930 Cheating at gambling in the early 20th century in Nevada could land a person in serious trouble. That’s exactly what happened to Francis Leo Luckett, 28. A Pennsylvania native, he’d been in Reno by way of Ely for about 10 days, frequenting the various casinos with his buddy, Cleo “Slim” Bush. On a…
1964 For its eighth anniversary, The Mint in Las Vegas, Nevada baked a mega, 6,527-pound cake in the shape of the hotel-casino. About the size of 1,363 regular 10-inch cakes, it required: • 12,960 eggs • 2,400 pounds of sugar • 1,218 pounds of whole milk • 1,104 pounds of shortening It was designed to serve about 40,000 people.…