Download or read book The Roots of Reno written by Al W. Moe and published by Al Moe. This book was released on 2008-10-03 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reno was truly Hell on Wheels in the 1920's. The rest of the nation considered the town Sodom and Gomorra, but that's only half the truth. Reno offered everything in the way of adult entertainment, from speakeasy's and houses of ill-repute, to open gaming - legal or not. And it took plenty of sins by the founding fathers to make Reno "The biggest little city in the world." When the gold-veins of Tonopah and Goldfield ran out, the casino owners moved to Reno, where even greater riches awaited. Together, a group of four men (Nick Abelman, Bill Graham, Jim McKay, George Wingfield) took over Reno's casinos and held sway over the town for the next three decades. Together they administered policy, collected juice, ran politicians, and owned the red-light district and most of the town's casinos. When that wasn't enough they took over the banks and laundered money for crooks like "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Alvin Karpis, and Ma Barker's boys, and offered safety to "Baby Face" Nelson. It was a good gig. The Reno Four dictated policy all over Northern Nevada, taking special care of Reno and Lake Tahoe casinos up until the late 1950's. Their influence made Reno before Bill Harrah or "Pappy" Smith ever arrived, needing an introduction and permission to build their own casinos, Harold's Club and Harrah's. This is an expansion, an unabridged version of "Mob City - Reno" with much to tell about Nevada's gold mining towns.
Download or read book Reno s Big Gamble written by Alicia Barber and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2023-05-19 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Pittsburgh socialite Laura Corey rolled into Reno, Nevada, in 1905 for a six-month stay, her goal was a divorce from the president of U.S. Steel. Her visit also provided a provocative glimpse into the city's future. With its rugged landscape and rough-edged culture, Reno had little to offer early twentieth-century visitors besides the gambling and prostitution that had remained unregulated since Nevada's silver-mining heyday. But the possibility of easy divorce attracted national media attention, East Coast notables, and Hollywood stars, and soon the "Reno Cure" was all the rage. Almost overnight, Reno was on the map. Alicia Barber traces the transformation of Reno's reputation from backward railroad town to the nationally known "Sin Central"—as Garrison Keillor observed, a place where you could see things that you wouldn't want to see in your own hometown. Chronicling the city's changing fortunes from the days of the Comstock Lode, she describes how city leaders came to embrace an identity as "The Biggest Little City in the World" and transform their town into a lively tourist mecca. Focusing on the evolution of urban reputation, Barber carefully distinguishes between the image that a city's promoters hope to manufacture and the impression that outsiders actually have. Interweaving aspects of urban identity, she shows how sense of place, promoted image, and civic reputation intermingled and influenced each other—and how they in turn shaped the urban environment. Quickie divorces notwithstanding, Reno's primary growth engine was gambling; modern casinos came to dominate the downtown landscape. When mainstream America balked, Reno countered by advertising "tax freedom" and natural splendor to attract new residents. But by the mid-seventies, unchecked growth and competition from Las Vegas had initiated a downslide that persisted until a carefully crafted series of special events and the rise of recreational tourism began to attract new breeds of tourists. Barber's engaging story portrays Reno as more than a second-string Las Vegas, having pioneered most of the attractions-gaming and prizefighting, divorces and weddings-that made the larger city famous. As Reno continues to remold itself to weather the shifting winds of tourism and growth, Barber's book provides a cautionary tale for other cities hoping to ride the latest consumer trends.
Download or read book The Rise of the Biggest Little City written by Dwayne Kling and published by Gambling Studies. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Records the fruits of fourteen years of research into the history of Reno's casinos, from the backroom (and often illegal) dives of the industry's beginnings to the elegant casino-hotels of today. Arranged in encyclopaedic form with historic photographs, it offers the stories of such famous establishments as Harolds Club, the Cal-Neva, the Sands, and Harrah's, as well as defunct clubs like the Cedars, the Silver Spur, and the Bank Club.
Download or read book Historic Houses and Buildings of Reno Nevada written by Holly Walton-Buchanan and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guide highlights the architectural and historical significance of more than sixty important homes, ranch houses, and buildings in Reno, Nevada. Known as The Biggest Little City in the World since the 1930s, when quickie divorces and casino gaming were legalized by the Nevada Legislature, Reno has reinvented itself several times during its nearly 150 years of history. Founded in the 1860s on the banks of the scenic Truckee River in Northern Nevada, Reno has had a fascinating journey, from its beginnings as an Emigrant Trail outpost, to its role in the mid-1930s invention of the hotel and casino industry. Cattle barons, mine speculators, and bank presidents in 19th century Reno built their mansions on the high bluff above the Truckee River, surrounded by extensive gardens, transforming the arid little town into what author Walter Van Tilburg Clark called The City of Trembling Leaves. Also featured is the beautiful University of Nevada, Reno, campus, with its Neoclassical buildings designed by Reno s most prominent architect, Frederic Delongchamps. Enhanced with both historical and contemporary photographs, the book includes maps, a glossary of architectural terms with local examples, and a list of architectural styles found in Reno.
Download or read book Historic Photos of Reno written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2008-04-08 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reno was first known as a mid-nineteenth century mining town, owing to Nevada’s ample supply of silver and gold. Over the next hundred years, the city became an urban playground, notorious for a lax political environment that encouraged unconventional activities such as prizefighting, gambling, and uncontested divorce. Historic Photos of Reno tells the story of Reno’s development through nearly 200 archival black-and-white photographs. Author Donneyln Curtis transports the reader through the city’s history, illustrating how a sleepy mining community grew into the "biggest Little City in the World.”
Download or read book Vegas and the Mob written by Al W Moe and published by Al W Moe. This book was released on 2017-02-16 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Reading the Roots written by Michael P. Branch and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reading the Roots is an unprecedented anthology of outstanding early writings about American nature--a rich, influential, yet critically underappreciated body of work. Rather than begin with Henry David Thoreau, who is often identified as the progenitor of American nature writing, editor Michael P. Branch instead surveys the long tradition that prefigures and anticipates Thoreau and his literary descendants. The selections in Reading the Roots describe a diversity of landscapes, wildlife, and natural phenomena, and their authors represent many different nationalities, cultural affiliations, religious views, and ideological perspectives. The writings gathered here also range widely in terms of subject, rhetorical form, and disciplinary approach--from promotional tracts and European narratives of contact with Native Americans to examples of scientific theology and romantic nature writing. The volume also includes a critical introduction discussing the cultural, scientific, and literary value of early American nature writing; headnotes that contextualize all authors and selections; and a substantial bibliography of primary and secondary sources in the field. Reading the Roots at last makes early American landscapes--and a range of literary responses to them--accessible to scholars, students, and general readers.
Download or read book Tough Little Town on the Truckee written by John M. Townley and published by Pacific Northwest Books. This book was released on 1983 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Angel of the Crows written by Katherine Addison and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Katherine Addison, author of The Goblin Emperor, returns with The Angel of the Crows, a fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London, where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming. This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting. In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent. Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Download or read book Gambling in America written by William N. Thompson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-02-10 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This one-volume reference provides a comprehensive overview of gambling in the Americas, examining the history, morality, market growth, and economics of the gaming industry. This is the most complete encyclopedia of gambling, covering the industry in great detail including the players, the games, the venues, and the surrounding social issues. Updates in this second edition reveal the impact of technological advances on the games, the growing legislation regulating the industry, and the expanding global footprint of gambling across the world—from Manitoba to Montana. Author William N. Thompson postulates on the impact of gambling on local communities and shows how the U.S. gaming industry is tied to the global market, most notably gaming expansion in Macau and Singapore. The book addresses the various forms of gaming, such as casino-based and online gambling, sports betting, and lotteries. Additional content examines the social issue of problem and pathological gambling and addresses the rehabilitation programs available for the mitigation and treatment of gambling problems.
Download or read book Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism written by Ronald J. Pestritto and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2005 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the political principles of Woodrow Wilson that influenced his presidency and the impact he had on United States and the progressive movement.
Download or read book Reno s Heyday written by David Lowndes and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-28 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For 60 years starting in 1931, Reno was unarguably the place where things not possible elsewhere were its hallmarks—gambling, divorce, and uncomplicated weddings. Old promotional campaigns described two Renos—one for gambling and entertainment and one for outdoor activities. For locals, there were two other Renos. One was a beautiful city on a mountain river between towering peaks. It was a community of local businesses where people knew each other and were proud of its university. The other Reno was the city of casinos and top-name entertainment that attracted visitors. For most of those 60 years, the visitors’ Reno increasingly crowded out the residents’ Reno. But with the decline of the divorce and gambling businesses and the coming of new high-tech industries to Reno’s economy, Reno’s heyday may be just gearing up for a second wind.
Download or read book Illegal Gambling Clubs of Toledo written by Terry Shaffer and published by . This book was released on 1912-06-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed listing of illegal gambling clubs in Toledo, Ohio and the people that operated. Also included are listings of gambling chips and dice used in the clubs.
Download or read book A Short History of Reno Second Edition written by Richard Moreno and published by University of Nevada Press. This book was released on 2015-10-01 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This completely revised and updated edition of A Short History of Reno provides an entertaining and informative account of Reno’s remarkably colorful history. Richard Moreno discusses Reno’s efforts, from its early beginnings in the 1850s to the present day, to reinvent itself as a recreation, entertainment, education, and technology hub. Moreno looks at the gamblers, casino builders, and performers who helped create the world-famous gaming industry, and he considers the celebrities who came to end unhappy marriages back when Reno was “the divorce capital of the world.” Moreno brings the city’s history up-to-date with coverage of the businesspeople and civic leaders who helped make Reno an attraction that still lures millions of visitors each year. Today’s travelers and residents explore Reno’s flamboyant heart and scenic wonders, topics the author examines in an accessible and lively fashion.
Download or read book Nevada s Golden Age of Gambling written by Albert Woods Moe and published by Al Moe. This book was released on 2001 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 59 black and white photos.
Download or read book A Short History of Reno written by Barbara Land and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an anecdotal treatment of Reno's history. Its text and photographs uncover some little known facts and enlighten readers about Reno's colourful past and the parade of larger-than-life characters who left their mark on the city.
Download or read book Chaos and Cosmos written by Heidi C. M. Scott and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Chaos and Cosmos, Heidi Scott integrates literary readings with contemporary ecological methods to investigate two essential and contrasting paradigms of nature that scientific ecology continues to debate: chaos and balance. Ecological literature of the Romantic and Victorian eras uses environmental chaos and the figure of the balanced microcosm as tropes essential to understanding natural patterns, and these eras were the first to reflect upon the ecological degradations of the Industrial Revolution. Chaos and Cosmos contends that the seed of imagination that would enable a scientist to study a lake as a microcosmic world at the formal, empirical level was sown by Romantic and Victorian poets who consciously drew a sphere around their perceptions in order to make sense of spots of time and place amid the globalizing modern world. This study’s interest goes beyond likening literary tropes to scientific aesthetics; it aims to theorize the interdisciplinary history of the concepts that underlie our scientific understanding of modern nature. Paradigmatic ecological ideas such as ecosystems, succession dynamics, punctuated equilibrium, and climate change are shown to have a literary foundation that preceded their status as theories in science. This book represents an elevation of the prospects of ecocriticism toward fully developed interdisciplinary potentials of literary ecology.
