1900-1906 A snapshot of six early years of one popular gambling-saloon in Reno, Nevada spotlights some of the problems these establishments routinely faced: on-site crime, financial troubles, crooked games and changes in both owners and gambling operators. Though the Louvre debuted in May 1897* at 22 E. Commercial Row in the then-called Marshall Building, it…
1906-1907 “They’ll never get me,” prisoner John Edwards said while being ushered into court for his trial. “They’ll never fasten anything on me” (Nevada State Journal, April 19, 1906). “Hasn’t a man a right to carry $200 or $300 on his person? Is that a crime?” Allegedly, two days earlier, Edwards, with two other masked…
1904-1905 Criminal drama occurred between two men late one November morning in the Wieland saloon in Reno, Nevada in 1904. James Mann, a Wyoming man who sometimes worked in Silver State gambling clubs — the Louvre saloon and Oberon bar — had been imbibing for some time inside the Wieland. He jokingly began to spar with…