Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling

Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling
Author: Al W. Moe
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2012-09-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781479352654

A photo-rich history of the first fifty years of Nevada's legalized gambling from 1931 to 1981. Chapters include stories about the most influential pioneers of Nevada gaming including Bill Harrah, "Pappy" Smith, Moe Dalitz, Howard Hughes, George Wingfield, "Bugsy" Siegel, Sil Petricciani, Nick Abelman and dozens more.

The Curious Life of Nevada's LaVere Redfield: The Silver Dollar King

The Curious Life of Nevada's LaVere Redfield: The Silver Dollar King
Author: Jack Harpster
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 1625852363

LaVere Redfield was a prolific hoarder. When he died in 1974, his estate was estimated at more than $70 million. Executors found 680 bags of silver coins and 407,000 Morgan and Peace silver dollars in his Reno mansion. A local Reno legend, Redfield gambled regularly in Virginia Street casinos. He survived robbery and burglaries of his home, which contained false walls to store millions of silver dollars. Hating banks and paper money, as well as big government, Redfield opted to serve a prison term for income tax evasion rather than pay his debts from his ample fortune. Join author Jack Harpster for this first book-length study of this unconventional man behind the folklore and the myth.

License To Steal

License To Steal
Author: Jeff Burbank
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2012-08-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0874174724

These seven precedent-setting case studies taken from the files of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission illustrate vital issues addressed in the first decade of Las Vegas' megaresorts.

Jews in Nevada

Jews in Nevada
Author: John P. Marschall
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Total Pages: 662
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 0874177480

Jews have always been one of Nevada’s most active and influential ethnic minorities. They were among the state’s earliest Euro-American settlers, and from the beginning they have been involved in every area of the state’s life as businessmen, agrarians, scholars, educators, artists, politicians, and civic, professional, and religious leaders. Jews in Nevada is an engaging, multilayered chronicle of their lives and contributions to the state. Here are absorbing accounts of individuals and families who helped to settle and develop the state, as well as thoughtful analyses of larger issues, such as the reasons Jews came to Nevada in the first place, how they created homes and interacted with non-Jews, and how they preserved their religious and cultural traditions as a small minority in a sparsely populated region.

Jokers Wild

Jokers Wild
Author: Thomas Barker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2000-09-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0313002444

A history and analysis of gambling in the United States from bingo to state lotteries to Indian gaming and the rise of Las Vegas, this book reveals how we have become a nation of gamblers and what the future holds for the gambling industry. From the colonial era to the present, Americans have enjoyed a love-hate relationship with gambling. It is a pastime that has gone from sin to recreational activity, and an industry that has moved from control by organized crime to management by executives with MBAs. While gaming is one of the nation's fastest-growing industries, Barker and Britz predict that this process will slow or stop in the next century as the result of market saturation and unknown social and economic effects which loom over the glitz, glamour, and action. Providing the latest information on the nature and extent of legalized gambling in the United States, this study examines why we gamble and how the relative impact of the activity differs in certain segments of the population. Legalized gambling is, at best, problematic behavior with both good and bad consequences. State-sponsored gambling, both in the form of monopolistic lotteries and in tribal casinos, does to some extent call into question the proper role of the state or tribal nation in promoting a potentially harmful activity among its citizens. States that have looked to legalized gambling as a source of economic salvation may soon experience difficulties as gambling venues multiply and unregulated Internet gambling becomes more widespread.

Moon Nevada

Moon Nevada
Author: Scott Smith
Publisher: Moon Travel
Total Pages: 629
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 164049202X

Whether you're an adventure junkie, road-tripper, or card shark, Nevada has something for you. Pull off the perfect trip to the Silver State with Moon Nevada. Inside you'll find: Strategic itineraries for road-trippers, campers, skiers, and more The best road trips through Nevada, from three days on "the loneliest road in America" to a week covering Death Valley and the Extraterrestrial Highway, plus detailed information on travel times, distances, and directions The top sights and unique experiences: Explore caves and glaciers at Great Basin National Park, or go fishing, swimming, or boating on Lake Tahoe or Lake Mead. Marvel at the Hoover Dam, camp at a secluded alpine lake, and experience the authentic Wild West in a ghost town saloon. Try your hand at a slot machine and eat your way through an epic Las Vegas buffet, or visit one of Nevada's major festivals and shop for local turquoise jewelry in a Gold Rush town Local tips from longtime Nevadan Scott Smith on where to stay, when to go, and how to get around, plus advice for families with children and travelers with disabilities Full-color photos and detailed maps throughout Thorough background information on the landscape, climate, wildlife, and local culture Focused coverage of Reno, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Tahoe, Central Nevada, Elko, the Ruby Mountains, and more With Moon Nevada's practical tips and local insight, you can plan your trip your way. Spending more time at the lake? Try Moon Tahoe. Headed to the parks? Try Moon Yosemite National Park or Moon Death Valley National Park.

The River and the Railroad

The River and the Railroad
Author: Mary Ringhoff
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0874178525

When the City of Reno decided at the beginning of this century to create a trench to lower the railroad tracks that ran through its center, archaeologists associated with the ReTRAC (Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor) project had a unique opportunity to explore the evidence of thousands of years of human history locked beneath downtown’s busy streets. The River and the Railroad traces the people and events that shaped the city, incorporating archaeological findings to add a more tangible physical dimension to the known history. It offers fascinating insights into the lives of many different people from Reno’s past and helps to correct some common misperceptions about the history of the American West.

Vegas at Odds

Vegas at Odds
Author: James P. Kraft
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2010-01-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 080189865X

American historians and anyone interested in the history of labor or Las Vegas will find this account highly original, insightful, and even-handed.

Vegas and the Mob

Vegas and the Mob
Author: Al W Moe
Publisher: Al W Moe
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2017-02-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1483955559

Las Vegas was the Mob's greatest venture and most spectacular success, and through 40 years of frenzy, murder, deceit, scams, and skimming, the FBI listened on phone taps and did virtually nothing to stop the fun. This is the truth about the Mob's control of the casinos in Vegas like you've never heard it before, from start to finish. Two of the nation's most powerful crime family bosses went to prison in the 1930's: Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. Frank Nitti took over the Chicago Outfit, while Frank Costello ran things for the Luciano Family. Both men were influenced by their bosses from prison, and both sent enough gangsters into the streets to influence loan sharking, extortion, union control, and drug sales. Bugsy Siegel worked for both groups, handling a string of murders and opening up gaming on the west coast, and that included Las Vegas, an oasis of sin in the middle of the desert - and it was legal. Most of it. The FBI watched as the Mob took control of casino after casino, killed off the competition, and stole enough money to bribe their way to respectability back home. By the 1950's, nearly every major crime family had a stake in a Las Vegas casino. Some did better than others. Casino owners watched-over their profits while competing crime families eyed each other's success like jealous lovers. Murder often followed.