I wrote my first gaming story in 1978. I was 19, and it was terrible. In 1981 I wrote my first piece for Gambling Times/Poker Player and it wasn't terrible. It was even printed. I received $50 for the short article, and with inflation, I probably make less for short articles now than I did then. Pity.I started printing and publishing my own casino stories for the US National Journal in July of 1981. The first edition had a terrific drawing of a slot machine on the cover done by a friend of mine, Ann Hinds.In 1982 I started trading and selling chips through Diversified "21" Inc., and later wrote articles for the National Registry. About this time I met Harvey Fuller at the Nevada Historical Society and we shared a lunch or two while discussing casinos, owners, and chips. He was busy working on a list of all the licensed casinos in Nevada. It was a long and arduous job, but Harvey kept at it for years, finally finishing and publishing his work with the help of Howard Herz.In 1986, after my sixth chip list and story board for the National Registry, I started my own quarterly magazine called Casino and Gaming Chips. I wrote about Nevada casinos, and Archie Black sent me articles about Atlantic City clubs and their chips. I had a great time, and met a lot of people who were just as wild about chips and casino memorabilia as I was. However, I really wanted to find out more about the casinos of Nevada.I also wanted to open a store with just casino memorabilia, and I couldn't do both, so I sold my magazine and name list, and started really digging into the history of Nevada casinos. In 1988 I was honored to join Archie Black's "Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club" as member number 67. He and a long list of contributors, members and officers have built an amazing club that has signed-up thousands of collectors and history buffs.After attending dozens of shows, driving countless miles, and talking to every old casino owner/worker I ran into, I finally put some of my stories into book form. The first edition of Nevada's Golden Age of Gambling came out in 1997, and a revised second edition is now available right here in our bookstore. Please take a look.In addition, I have just completed a new book entitled The Roots of Reno. This book centers on the lives of early pioneer saloon and casino owners from Tonopah and Goldfield, Nevada. The main characters, Nick Abelman, Bill Graham, Jim McKay and George Wingfield, all worked in the dusty mining camps before heading to Reno with their hard-earned riches to turn Reno into the "Biggest Little City In The World." The Roots of Reno is also available in our bookstore (as well as the usual online stores like Amazon).
