Nevada Legalizes Gambling: Las Vegas Is About to Happen
The state was so broke it couldn't pay its teachers. Nevada's governor Fred Balzar signed Assembly Bill 98 on March 19, 1931, legalizing casino gambling as a desperate revenue grab during the Depression's darkest days. The bill passed quietly—most legislators figured it'd just formalize the illegal card rooms already operating in Reno's back alleys. Nobody imagined the desert. Within two decades, mobster Bugsy Siegel would transform a dusty Las Vegas railroad stop into the Strip, and Nevada's "sin tax" experiment would generate billions, making it the only state that doesn't need income tax to survive. Desperation dressed up as vice became America's most profitable business model.
March 19, 1931
95 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 19
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