Always Bet on the Butcher: Complete Document |
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Compound Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Always Bet on the Butcher: Warren Nelson and Casino Gaming, 1930s-1980s |
| Oral History # | 164 |
| Interviewee | Nelson, Warren Lawrence, 1913-2004 |
| Interview Date | 1992 |
| Document Date | 1994 |
| Description | At the beginning of the Great Depression of the 1930s, eighteen-year-old Warren Nelson lost his job with the Park Hotel in Great Falls, Montana. Work of any sort was scarce, but Nelson did not long remain unemployed—he used a family connection to join a quasi-legal gambling business operating in the back rooms of a local cigar store. As Warren Nelson set about learning the craft of gambling, the state of Nevada was creating a legal and political environment in which he and many of his colleagues would flourish. In March 1931, with passage of AB 98, Nevada became the only state in the nation that sanctioned the operation of gambling casinos. This presented a great opportunity to professional gamblers working elsewhere, largely outside the law. A number of pioneers in the business—people such as Bill Harrah, Pappy Smith, and Benny Binion—were attracted to Nevada by the prospect of being able to operate without having to bribe officials and without being subject to closure every time the political climate changed. Throughout the decades of the thirties and forties, they and others like them drifted in to Reno and Las Vegas, forming the nucleus of an industry that would eventually dominate the state’s economy. In Montana Warren Nelson learned how to set up and operate a Chinese lottery game called keno, and in 1936 a fellow Montana gambler who had relocated to Reno asked him to come and put a keno game in John Petricciani’s Palace Club. Keno certainly wasn’t new to Nevada in 1936, but, as he was to do many times in many different areas over the next fifty years, Nelson refined the concept, and introduced a game that was more exciting and more successful than any that had previously been seen locally. By doing so he effectively launched what would become a remarkable career. The evolution from “joints,” owned and operated by gamblers, to today’s “gaming entertainment centers” run by trained professional managers was lengthy—but by the 1960s the casino owner no longer kept his bankroll in his back pocket; he no longer dealt or supervised the games, or counted the money, or painted the walls; and he no longer personally hired all employees, greeted high rollers, and chased down thieves who had been caught in the act. Stricter regulation by the state, the need for ever-larger amounts of capital, and the sheer size of the operations were forces for change. Reflecting its movement toward the respectable mainstream of American business, casino gamblers began calling their business “the gaming industry.” Warren Nelson is undeniably an operator who was influential in the evolution of casino gaming. While he was rarely the primary source, he was often an early and important participant in innovations and changes that brought great success to the industry. Nelson was always on the lookout for better ways to operate, to attract customers, and to satisfy them—quick to recognize a good idea, he was never reluctant to try one, modify it, refine and improve it. Through most of his career Nelson has believed in a simple principle: Give the players the best bet (lowest odds for the house) that you can while still making a profit, and they will play longer, leave satisfied, and come back bringing their friends—it makes better business sense for a casino to average small wins on millions of bets than to average large wins on only a few hundred. That philosophy fueled the dramatic growth of the Club Cal-Neva. It is also at the heart of the phenomenal success of casino gaming in the state. The story of Warren Nelson’s personal journey, from his start as a “gambler” to his current position as a respected casino operator, can be read as a metaphor for the rise of Nevada’s gaming industry. |
| LC Subject Headings |
Nelson, Warren, 1913- Gamblers -- Nevada -- Biography Gambling -- Nevada -- History -- 20th century Casinos -- Nevada -- History -- 20th century |
| Oral History Topic | Gaming |
| Publisher | University of Nevada, Reno Libraries |
| Ordering and Permissions Information | All Oral History Archive interviews are copyrighted materials. They may be downloaded and/or printed for personal reference and educational use, but not republished or sold. Under “fair use” standards, excerpts of up to 1000 words may be quoted for publication without permission as long as the use is non-commercial and materials are properly cited. The citation should include the title of the work, the name of the person or people interviewed, the date of publication or production, and the fact that the work was published or produced by the University of Nevada Oral History Program (and collaborating institutions, when applicable). Requests for permission to quote for other publication, or to use any photos found within the transcripts, should be addressed to UNR Special Collections, 1664 N. Virginia MS 322, Reno, NV 89557-0322. Original recordings of most interviews are available for research purposes upon request. |
| Identifier | HV6721.N45 N43 1994 |
| Date Digital | 2012 |
| Interviewer |
Adams, Ken, 1940- Nelson, Gail |
| Contributing Institution | University of Nevada, Reno |
Item Description
| Title | Always Bet on the Butcher: Complete Document |
| Publisher | University of Nevada, Reno Libraries |
| Ordering and Permissions Information | All Oral History Archive interviews are copyrighted materials. They may be downloaded and/or printed for personal reference and educational use, but not republished or sold. Under “fair use” standards, excerpts of up to 1000 words may be quoted for publication without permission as long as the use is non-commercial and materials are properly cited. The citation should include the title of the work, the name of the person or people interviewed, the date of publication or production, and the fact that the work was published or produced by the University of Nevada Oral History Program (and collaborating institutions, when applicable). Requests for permission to quote for other publication, or to use any photos found within the transcripts, should be addressed to UNR Special Collections, 1664 N. Virginia MS 322, Reno, NV 89557-0322. Original recordings of most interviews are available for research purposes upon request. |
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