I've been a gambler my whole life, ever since I started pitching pennies and shooting marbles. I hate to lose, so most of my education came on the cheap, and I've stayed with games I could beat, and steered away from people and games I couldn't. Near the beginning, I was a nine-year-old kid playing... Continue Reading →
Original photo of dealers and bosses at Cal-Neva casino in Lake Tahoe, 1942.
I learned to play poker in West Springfield, Virginia after my friend Barry Wilson invited me to play. We were high school freshmen, and the guys we ended up playing against were juniors and seniors. We both lost. In the coming weeks, we improved, but we were still dorks. To finance poker, Barry got a... Continue Reading →
I wrote my first little story about the Primadonna Casino in Reno for my chip collecting friends in 1984. We weren't a big group, so the front side of the first of four pages had an actual post card stuck to it. Below the scalloped edges of the Reno-Tahoe Advertising post card were a few... Continue Reading →
L. M. Strauss, a native of the San Francisco Bay area, was born in October 1904. Growing up, he was like any other youth in the area, driven by the desire to earn some extra cash to support his interests and socialize with his peers. His early exposure to poker, particularly five-card stud, and his... Continue Reading →
If anything is certain in life besides Death and Taxes, it's that the Mob kept plenty of muscle in Las Vegas to protect its interests. In this case, the New York Mob started first, with a friendly visit from Meyer Lansky to the first club along what became the Las Vegas strip a dozen years... Continue Reading →
Harold S. Smith was born in Denver, Colorado February 23, 1910. His father, Raymond I. “Pappy” Smith, was a carnival booth owner who ran games in traveling circuses and at established boardwalks and fairs. He preferred the slappers, a roulette-style game with prizes on each pegged slot, and offered normal roulette games at many locations.... Continue Reading →
Benny Binion, born Lester Ben Binion on November 20, 1904, in Plot Grove, Texas, was an American gangster and casino owner. He founded the World Series of Poker and Binion's Horseshoe, a casino resort in Las Vegas. Benny Binion was known for his extensive criminal activities and contributions to the development of the Nevada gambling... Continue Reading →
Carl Cohen was born in Cleveland, Ohio February 15, 1913, and spent his adult years working in the gaming industry, first finding employment at the Thomas Club as a dealer. Cohen saw the Cleveland Syndicate’s casinos as a fine job and was both a dice dealer and later a pit boss. He also worked as... Continue Reading →
Jack Dragna from a Los Angeles Police Department Mug Shot - 1946 Jack Dragna, born Giacomo Tommaso or Ignazio Dragna in Corleone, Sicily, in 1891, was a notorious American mobster who rose to power in the early 20th century, leading one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Southern California. After immigrating to the United... Continue Reading →
Above: Moe Sedway enjoys a cigar with friend and casino partner Gus Greenbaum (Right) Moe Sedway was an American gangster and a close associate of the infamous mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Born in 1894 in Ukraine, Sedway immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in New York City's Lower East Side.... Continue Reading →
A Touch of Magic and a Dash of Romance
"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples" -Mother Teresa
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Al W Moe's Nevada Gaming History 