Howard Hughes’ Frontier Casino Becomes Guinea Pig

1968-1971 A couple and a third man approached a 21 table in the Frontier in Las Vegas, Nevada on a Monday afternoon. The husband, Douglas Anderson, distracted the dealer. In that moment, his wife, Beverly Hanson, pulled a marked deck from her purse, handed it to the other man, Fred Padilla, who swapped it for…

Quick Fact – Spurring On Business

1968 During the grand opening of the Silver Spur casino at 221 N. Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada on July 1, 1968, the ribbon was cut with a silver spur that Audie Murphy used in the movie, Billy the Kid. Resembling an early Western gambling hall, the club showcased a $25,000-limit keno game, five 21 tables,…

Quick Fact – Gambling, Guns and … Dolls

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.…

Quick Fact – Road to Monopoly?

1968 Howard Hughes, billionaire industrialist, received the Nevada Gaming Commission’s blessing to buy the Stardust hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada for $30.5 million and moved forward with the acquisition. He already owned five such properties on the Strip — the Castaways, Silver Slipper, Frontier, Sands and Desert Inn. (Adding the Stardust would’ve given him control…