Harold's Club

There is a documentary being prepared on Harolds Club in Reno. I have spent many hours there, and some of these faces are quite familiar. Nevada and the entire casino industry can thank the Smith family for pioneering state and the entire industry.

It is difficult to explain a visit to Harolds Club. it was a world unto itself. There were fun collections, silver dollar bars, so many different "themes" in each area on the various floors. The Seventh Floor was unique, very intimate. I have seen Carl Ravazza entertain there often. He was a "matinee" idol  and a singer and a band leader from years past and lived in Reno.  The houselights would dim and he would enter from the back of the room and slowly make his way to the front singing some intimate lilting French song, and then for an hour captivate you with songs, stories and golf jokes. I have seen many well known entertainers while out there, but none as memorable as Carl Ravazza.

Anyway, this clip gives you a taste of Harolds Club. Notice she states that they all were taught to deal the same way. On my Nevada Club blog I have given my explanation and reason for them doing that. Harold was smarter than other owners, and I have never seen it stated before, but, in my opinion, we detected one of the reasons why they were so successful.

Be patient, it may take a while to download.

THE HAROLDS PROMOTIONAL DOCUMENTARY

Harolds success ........... on the 21 table

Well, not sure of the validity of this post, but a few of us were convinced. Some of us always wondered why Harolds club maintained such a good table average, they seemed to win more frequently than other places. They were good about giving away used playing cards, and some of us took it upon ourselves to find out why they were consistently winners.

A few of us, got used cards, over quite a period of time, and scrutinized the used decks. A few of our "group" had turned out there, and knew the training procedure they used.

They did "shuffling" but not too much "whacking" around with the cards, just shuffling, our findings, the kept the "progression" of the cards intact.

A new deck has a large group of "faces" in the middle of the deck, and each deck we checked, after usage, limited usage, still had that grouping in tact. Dealers were given a box of cards at the start of the shift and were encouraged to go to new decks often.

Our conclusion, that the grouping of high cards gave Harolds a bit of an edge. Other clubs wanted a shuffle, and then a slap, slap, slap, or a cutting of the decks, not Harolds.

In afternoon "test deals" at various apartments around town, it was our conclusion that "their" way of dealing gave them a few percentage points edge, as opposed to other methods. It worked for them, made not only Harolds, but the entire state of Nevada, successful.

I am not sure how many were aware of this, and thanks to one of the most brilliant "minds" I have ever known, I am convinced this added to the success of Harolds Club, and it was entirely legal, just cost them more in cards...

Thanks Bettye and Thelma .....

My first lesson as a crap dealer in Reno .....

How many spots on a die?
How many sides on a die?
How many edges are there on a die?
If a ONE is on top, what is on the bottom?
How many spots on a pair of dice?
If a 5 2 is showing, what is on the bottom?
How about a 4 3 showing, what's on the bottom?

I got a call yesterday .................

Got a call from Dwayne Kling yesterday, I probably talked his ear off, hardly let him get a word in. There are just not many left that I can converse with from "the old days" who know and understand how unique we are to have lived in Reno during the years we did.

So much Reno and Nevada history has been torn down and forgotten, it's a shame. When our generation is gone, with the exception of what has been written, will fade away. Dwayne made a prophetic statement also, that a lot of "that" history is already buried and much of it was not wanted known, if that makes sense.

It was a different era then, owners, owned their clubs, and we, as dealers and administrators were dealing in a different commodity, real money. If an owner had a bad night, walked in and didn't like the way you were dealing, you were gone. You brushed your hands, thanked everyone, and walked next door and started working there. Most of the owners, if not all of  them, never saw the inside of a college, they saw the inside of "speakeasies," bars, illegal games, they all came up the hard way. The smartest survived. It  was an entirely different day.

There are so few I can talk with, about those days, that is why, a call from Dwayne Kling is special.

Some Primm memories ......

These are not Nevada Club photographs, but I took the picture at the table at the Primm in the late 50's/ That is Joe Francis on the box, with Jerry Havens and Jerry Christiansen. Joe became a Casino Manager with Harrahs, not sure about the other two. Cameras were not allowed in the clubs in those days, had to sneak in my polaroid and take these when Don wasn't looking.

Havens turned out with Fitz well before I did, and was a very good friend. We called him Hoot, for some reason. Very quiet and unassuming and a very good clerk. If anyone knows of him, would love to hear from you.

The other foto is Ernie Primm, owner of the Primm. I had to do some searching to find it on the internet. Ernie was very good to me, helped me learn enough to sit box for him, and even had some time on the floor. Ernie also had poker houses in Gardena, California and I think had some money in a racetrack in California. Alan Roberts was Casino Manager at the Primm, but found no fotos of him.

Danny Fagan

To Any Friends or Relatives of Danny Fagan ..........

I just learned of his passing, and even though it has been so many years since I last saw him, the news brought a tear to my eyes. I turned out as a dealer at the Nevada Club in May of 1956, and Danny was one who helped train me and became an instant friend. I was young, and in an environment that was foreign and in some ways quite frightening to me. I knew nothing about gambling, only what I had seen in movies, and frankly, it was scary to me. Danny eased that frear, and was one to let me know that there was a normalcy to being in the casino industry. Danny was my icon.

The casino business is a transient industry, and especially in those days. Over the years, any time I saw Danny it was always like greeting a long lost, very sincere, friend.

I think that Danny was one of Fitz's confidants, and was close to Fitz, and I think Fitz talked things over with him, and he was on the "in" with him. I don't know that for a fact, but of all the floor people, I think Danny was the closests to Fitz and Meta, as well as Carlton Meta's brother. I called him Mr. Fagan once, from then on Danny. He was one fine teacher and a great "clerk" in his own right.

I would like to know more about his latter life if anyone reads this and has more information. If any of his relatives read this, he was one fine man, as you already know.

RIP Danny

Daniel Victor Fagan

03/04/1925

05/21/2013

Daniel V. Fagan (Uncle Danny), was born March 4, 1925 in Dumont, New Jersey to John and Mary Fagan. After a short illness, Danny peacefully passed away in Reno, Nevada on May 21, 2013 with family by his side. He is now reunited with his beloved wife of 56 years, Christene. During his 88 years of life he was a charter member of Sons of Erin, Reno Elks, Knights of Columbus and a faithful member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.

This is the Danny that worked for Fitz, there is no mention of it in his obit, and he just passed last May, I am so sorry I did not try to get in touch with him. He had a lot to do with my training as a dealer. My first night in training, he was one who "hinted" to me that I should not wear white socks. They did so by pulling up my pants leg and wiping their feet on my white socks, he and Bettye and Thelma were the three.

When I left the Lodge at Tahoe, Danny is the one who literally "kicked my butt," for blowing an opportunity that I knew nothing about, but he did. Fitz was going to let me have a nice job at the Bal at Tahoe when he bought it. I didn't know, might have been on the floor, or better. Another lost "opportunity" in my life, of which I have had many.

Oh, the stories he could have told, Danny was a one of a kind, so much history passed with him.