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 →
Reno became the Divorce Capital of the World in the 1930s. Open-gaming was legalized in 1931 and the state lowered residency requirements to six-weeks for divorces. So, people arrived in droves, ready to "take the cure" as they called it, and hotels were available for those on the rich side. Those with more adventurous souls... Continue Reading →
Primm Valley Resort in Nevada
How's this for a great shot from the early '70s? This postcard is from Reno Tahoe Specialty, Inc. Nate Jacobson built the King's Castle Casino at Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Nevada after selling his part of Caesars Palace in 1969. A former insurance salesman, broker, and owner, Jacobson faced charges from the Securities and Exchange... Continue Reading →
Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Searchlight, Nevada. It's the proverbial black spot on a map. It's an unincorporated town 13 miles square somehow holding 500 hearty souls. To be fair, ah, well, it's a dot, that's all. Really, if you are accidentally in Needles or Blyth, California, you might drift off towards... Continue Reading →
Reno’s Northern Club was one of the first casinos in the state licensed for gaming in 1931. Located on the ground floor along Center Street in Reno, the casino was run by Felix Turillas Sr. and John Etchebarren in the Commercial Hotel. Women were rare players in the 4,000 square-foot club when it opened with... Continue Reading →
The El Rancho in Las Vegas was built by Thomas Hull as an addition to his chain of “El Rancho” hotels in Gallup, New Mexico, and Fresno and Sacramento, California. The 63-cabin resort was designed as a way-station, a break for families to enjoy on their trip through Nevada, not as a casino property. Still,... Continue Reading →
Harold's Club in Reno was the Nation's best-known casino in the 1940s and 1950s, but how did that happen? Well, the story is told in much greater detail in Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling, but here's the start! Raymond "Pappy" Smith Raymond I. Smith spent thirty years of his life running carnival games from a baseball... Continue Reading →
Harrah's Tahoe - Opened in 1957 Bill Harrah was already a successful casino operator in Reno when he expanded to Lake Tahoe. The expansion is a little confusing, because, over the years, the Harrah's name graced both sides of Highway 50 at Stateline. Hopping from spot to spot was a pattern Harrah had used in Reno,... Continue Reading →
A slow day in Reno and at the casinos in July.
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Nevada Gaming History 