How did a 1930's-40's era casino work?

UncleSporky

For the purposes of a game I'm thinking about making, and also general curiousity, I'm looking for resources on how those old, "hard-boiled detective" era American casinos operated. To be honest I'm not even sure how a modern casino operates, but I imagine the security is far more advanced, as would be the "entertainment hub" layout.

Would you be likely to see a hotel, stage and bar built in? Did they have anything extravagantly large back then, or was it merely an extension of a regular saloon? What games aside from poker and blackjack would you be likely to see? What were the methods for catching and dealing with cheaters? Was there an effective way to keep people from bringing in their own false chips?

Movie or novel-based knowledge would probably be sufficient, as long as it's plausible.

"The Sting" doesn't explicitly have a casino, but I do remember gambling, so I will be watching that again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xjRJ4noK6I&feature=related

Esh

During or after prohibition?

I'm a little unsure what you mean by "gangster casino". Do you mean a speakeasy?

EDIT: http://www.jobmonkey.com/casino/html/sharpers_and_cheaters.html

UncleSporky

I changed the title...I meant a supposedly respectable casino that you might expect to discover gangsters in, and/or one you might see in a gangster movie.

I was thinking 1931 or later in Nevada (the one state where it was legalized). Of course that affects the operation and atmosphere as well, it's no New York.

Thanks for the link, I'm looking at it now.

EDIT: Sounds like the 50's make more sense as far as organized crime entering the picture.

MagicPrime

Even in the well respected Casinos if you got caught cheating there was a very real chance of getting the shit beat out of you.

Cheaters were found by "Floormen" and the "Pit Boss"

They wandered around the "Pit" from table to table looking for suspicious people and behavior.

If this game is an RP game, like d20 modern, the Pit Boss can be a great character to use as a GM.

Iceman.USAF

If you watch the original Ocean's 11, you can get a pretty good feel for what Vegas looked like back in "the day".

It's kinda depressing. Now Vegas is all TALL BUILDINGS AND LIGHTS AND HOOKERS AND BLOW AND OMG I THINK THEY KILLED A GUY ON STAGE OVER THERE!

In Ocean's 11 is seems much more sedate. Then again they did film the movie during the day (mostly) in the off peak hours.

Disclaimer: All my knowledge of casino's is from movies.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

It's hard to tell what you're asking, really. Casinos were already a big business by the 30s/40s. Not as huge and extravagant as they are now, of course, but it wasn't three tables at the rear of a bar.

Their operations weren't all that different then; security policed the floors watching for sharps and general signs of cheating, chips and cards were marked in various ways to prevent counterfeits, and anyone even suspected of doing anything the casino didn't like was tossed out.

Modern casinos have the benefit of electronic surveillance and modern behavioral study and so on, and they don't enforce their rules with violence anymore, but they don't do things that fundamentally differently.

Also the stereotypical era of casino resort/organized crime in vegas didn't really get going until the end of the 40s, so if you're looking for a bugsy siegel type of yarn, you're a decade or two early.

UncleSporky

Dyscord wrote: »

It's hard to tell what you're asking, really. Casinos were already a big business by the 30s/40s. Not as huge and extravagant as they are now, of course, but it wasn't three tables at the rear of a bar.

Their operations weren't all that different then; security policed the floors watching for sharps and general signs of cheating, chips and cards were marked in various ways to prevent counterfeits, and anyone even suspected of doing anything the casino didn't like was tossed out.

Modern casinos have the benefit of electronic surveillance and modern behavioral study and so on, and they don't enforce their rules with violence anymore, but they don't do things that fundamentally differently.

Also the stereotypical era of casino resort/organized crime in vegas didn't really get going until the end of the 40s, so if you're looking for a bugsy siegel type of yarn, you're a decade or two early.

This information is basically what I am asking for. I am looking for resources, such as good books and movies or especially a nice, easy to use historian's website on the subject of period casinos.

I just want an accurate picture of the style and practices that would be present, but then again I suppose nobody would be crazy enough to go peruse a library just so they could say "ah HA, the first casino with attached hotel and theatre opened in 1952, so your simulation is clearly inaccurate!"

dlinfiniti

like where they break your fingers and open the doors with your head when they throw you out?

travathian

Uh, go to your local library and talk to a librarian for help in finding some books? They really are knowledgeable and helpful people, and if your library doesn't have anything they may find another resource for you.

GothicLargo

UncleSporky wrote: »

EDIT: Sounds like the 50's make more sense as far as organized crime entering the picture.

This is a largely correct assessment.

Gambling before World War II was quite different from what we have today. The historical ancestor of the modern player-vs-house casino really got started on the lower Mississippi (largely because the people in that part of the country were easily duped about odds). In the 30's, the big money in gambling was in sports betting, not games of chance. Horse races in particular, but also boxing, and then really anything else a bookie would take odds on. It wasn't until the 50's that the resort casino made its way out from New Orleans to spread out to Atlantic City and Los Vegas.