The City of Reno’s first historical marker was unveiled Thursday. It honors
He had come to “the biggest little city” because California was cracking down on the carnival games his family ran in the Bay Area, and in 1931 Nevada had legalized gambling. Smith called his place “Harold’s Club”—with an apostrophe—and it was to become one of the most famous gambling place of its day and one of the first modern casinos. (The apostrophe later disappeared from the name.) The new club measured only 25 feet by 150 feet, and featured one roulette wheel.Source: OnelineNevada
The club’s launch, however, was met with losses. Enter Raymond “Pappy” Smith, Harold’s father, who came to Reno to turn the club around financially. Pappy soon became a pioneer in legalized gaming.
He branded the establishment, and Harold’s became
Pappy, not Harold, was the public face of the club and was considered the entrepreneurial genius who created modern Nevada gambling by making it credible and fun. This
must have deeply irked Harold and might have contributed to his heavy drinking and gambling in later years. Certainly, he, Pappy, and even Raymond argued frequently at board meetings and presumably elsewhere.Source: OnlineNevada
Pappy died in 1967.
Howard Hughes purchased the property in 1970.
The club met its demise in 1999.
Labor commentator Andrew Barbano remembers “the execution of Pappy Smith” at NevadaLabor.com.
“In addition to making the place his traveling carny show family’s permanent tent, Pappy basically created the Nevada gambling industry,” Barbano wrote in 1999 for the Sparks Tribune. “Even after the Howard Hughes Summa Corporation’s 1970 purchase of the place, original Smith family employees would stop and advise a player against making a self-defeating blackjack play.
“They would also give advice when asked, something almost unheard of today. At Harolds’ old competitors, such as the Mapes or Ponderosa, such actions brought automatic firing.”
Last week, the city recognized the club’s location with a historical marker. Numerous former employees and patrons of the club attended the event.
Councilmember Jenny Brekhus and the city’s historical resources commission hosted the dedication.
“As we move forward as a city and community, these nostalgic reminders of the past become all the more important,” she said. “It is paramount that we continue to preserve our history and find these opportunities to commemorate where we came from.”
Barbano remembered the property well:
A little, square plastic sign was hung on the side of the escalator, facing that high-ceilinged
festooned hung with all those guns. bar bar “Gambling is a game of chance. We advise you to wager no more than you can afford to lose.
The Management .”I hope I remembered it right.
Rest in peace, old gal and old pal. You were something special.
Watch the video of the dedication, featuring Neal Cobb, a former employee who praised the casino.
