Photo from LA Times/UCLA (Frank with mom Nancy and sister Tina) Did you know that while Frank Sinatra was enjoying immense success as a singer, actor, and casino owner (he owned the Cal-Neva Lodge with Chicago Outfit Boss Sam Giancana), someone had the audacity to kidnap his son, Frank Jr., who was making his way... Continue Reading →
Reno's Bank Club casino opened in the Golden Hotel basement in 1929. The property was owned by George Wingfield, Nevada's richest man with a net worth of $50 million dollars in the early part of the 20th century due to his mining success in the towns of Goldfield and Tonopah. His exploits and Reno's growth... Continue Reading →
South Shore Lake Tahoe had dozens of early casinos, from the Silver Club to Nevada Club, and even Dopey Norman's. The procession of casinos housed on the same spot is also an interesting subject, often debated by early investigators and finally proven by later writers after gaming documents and licenses proved or disproved ownership and... Continue Reading →
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I’ve finished another book that deals with Las Vegas casinos and the impact organized crime had on the city and its eventual financial health as the 1980s rolled around. However, Vegas and the Chicago Outfit is primarily about how the Outfit came to power, how its early... Continue Reading →
The Tahoe Village at South Shore Lake Tahoe circa the 1940s - Video here Authoral - Al W Moe Bert Riddick Bert Riddick was a Native Nevadan, born in the tiny mining town of Carlin. His wife, Vivian's family, was from Ely, Nevada, and Bert and Vivian spent their lives in Northern Nevada, traveling between... Continue Reading →
Reno gaming pioneer Nick Abelman's life in casinos
Steve Pavlovich was born in Yugoslavia in 1889. He came to America armed with dreams and a promise of a good life. What he found were rough-and-tumble characters who would rather beat you for your pennies than give you the time of day. He traveled from New York to New Jersey to Wyoming before arriving... Continue Reading →
Meyer Lansky was influential enough to draw hundreds of inquiries from law-enforcement agencies during his lifetime, from the FBI, CIA, Highway Patrol offices in dozen's of states, local police, detective agencies, you name it, somebody wanted to know more about him. Strange, because as dirty and sticky as his hands were for the Mob, no... Continue Reading →
The Mob didn't start the gambling in Nevada, and especially not in Las Vegas. In fact, they were relative latecomers, since Nevada had gambling for years before it was officially legalized in 1931. Because Nevada was such a large state with such a small population, there wasn't much reason to spend any capital to set... Continue Reading →
"Bugsy" Siegel is still an enduring icon of Hollywood, the Mob, and Las Vegas. Quite a legacy, really. Growing up in the Williamsburg district of Brooklyn (Feb. 28, 1906), no one expected the tough, skinny kid to even live long enough to have an impact on the world. (See our YouTube story and photos here)... 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 