Al W. Moe
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Al W Moe was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and traveled across the United States and lived in foreign counties before settling down in Reno, Nevada. Today he is the father of four fiercely independent girls
His first published articles appeared in "Poker Player" and were followed by regular columns in "Casino and Gaming Chips" before the publication of his first book, "Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling." He writes for About.com as the Casino Gambling Guide and continues to play poker on a regular basis when not involved with writing deadlines.
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Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling
History
Before "Bugsy" Siegel" opened the Flamingo casino and created the Las Vegas Strip, the Mob was hard at work stealing Downtown casinos like the Las Vegas Club and the El Cortez from their original owners. Reno casino owners resorted to arson and murder to keep their money flowing, and they had Lake Tahoe casinos in their pocket too! By the time "Bugsy" was gunned-down in Beverly Hills, his Flamingo was a stunning success, filling the Mob's coffers with "skim" money and filling the political connections with "slush" money. Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling is a photo-rich history of the casinos from 1931 to 1981. There was a lot more going on behind the scenes than America knew about, and those stories are here, from the building of empires in Reno and Lake Tahoe to Las Vegas and a dozen other Nevada casino towns. Stories detail how the casinos were built, who the major gaming pioneers were, and how they managed to build Nevada into the greatest gaming empire in the world. Chapters include the history of casinos and their founders from Bill Harrah and "Pappy" Smith, to Moe Dalitz, "Bugsy" Siegel, and dozens of others. |
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The Roots of Reno
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History
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. 
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Vegas and the MobHistory
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 others success like jealous lovers. Murder often followed. 
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The Ultimate Key to Successful Blogging
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Publishing
Want to quit work, sleep till noon, and write all day? Don't try it until you read The Ultimate Key to Successful Blogging! Written by a successful, long-time blogger who presents a concise but easy to understand overview of the world of Blogging. Instead of weighing you down with hyperbole, the author explains the process of writing for the web, setting up a blog, the avenues for making a blog profitable, and the ultimate key to successful blogging. If you want to learn about blogging, this is the place to start! You can do it! And I'll help you for free with marketing after you read this book! 
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Stealing From Bandits
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Action Adventure
“Stealing from Bandits” is really a novella, written mostly in first-person, and much longer than a short story at 232 pages. And, like most novellas, there are fewer conflicts than found in a full novel, and my first work of fiction. Much of the story deals with the inner goings on of a casino surveillance department, watching the players, catching cheats, and protecting the casino’s main inventory: cash. As things spin out of control for surveillance observer Kevin Webb, he needs to figure out which one of his friends can help him stay alive after being just a little too good at his job. The action takes you behind the scenes of a major casino and lets you take-in what the cameras see and only the bosses are supposed to know about. Webb tries to run on instinct, but eventually he simply doesn’t know who to trust. 
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Mob City: Reno
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History
Reno was the first US city to fully embrace its destiny as a gaming capital, and even before gaming was legalized in 1931 the city was the one place gangsters from Chicago and the Midwest wanted to go for safety, sanctuary, and of course the booze, the broads, and the banking services to launder their kidnapping and hold-up loot. Bank robbers like Alvin Karpis, kidnappers like Ma Barker and her sons, and even “Baby Face" Nelson came to stay, play, and enjoy the show. Reno had it all, and they had their own Mob who controlled the vices, legal or otherwise. Eventually Lucky Luciano, Tony Accardo, Sam Giancana and others took note, and joined the easy profits and the skim in Reno. This is the true story. The story of four men who ran things with no remorse. Coercion, arson, murder………… This is a fun, easy-reading book, not as detailed about Goldfield and Tonopah as “The Roots of Reno." Mob City: Reno centers on the gangs, the swindles, and the casinos. Enjoy! 
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