This was the Reno I knew. The Nevada Club in the middle is where it all started for me. Notice the parking on the street. If lucky, you found a parking spot and walked right into the clubs. On some nights, I parked in front and went in to work, not often. A couple of those spots were for taxicabs. Lower left was Menards clothing store, bought my clothes there. Not to far down on the left was a Western clothing store owned by the ex Governor and movie cowboy star, Rex Bell. I bought some western attire there. Much of this has been razed, little to nothing of it exists, only in memories.
"Situated between Harrah's and Harold's at 224 North Virginia street, the Nevada Club was always a little of each of it's neighbors, and an icon unto itself.
In 1946 two gents from the Detroit area purchased the Nevada Bingo Club, and thus began the 50 year career of Nevada's last old-time casino. The partners were Danny Sullivan and Lincoln Fitzgerald. It was said that Fitzgerald had ties to the Purple Gang in Detroit, being a bookkeeper at one time, and Danny Sullivan hailed originally from Florida. Whatever their origin, it is known that Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Fitzgerald were extradited to Michigan in August of 1949 to face illegal-gambling and bribery-of-public-officials charges. The bribery charges were later dropped, but the two were found guilty of the other charges and fined $52,000 before returning to Reno to resume their Nevada Club operation. Sullivan paid court costs of $33,000 and a fine of $700. Fitzgerald's costs ran up to only $18,000, and he had to pay only $300 in fines.
In November of 1949 Fitzgerald was the subject of a suspected mob hit, when he was gunned down by sawed-off 12 ga. shotgun blast in his driveway. Fitzgerald's partner, Danny Sullivan, didn't know "who would even want to shoot Fitz." "In this world, you never know who hates you, though," he added. Fitzgerald's survival was a miracle, and left him with a permanent limp. He then moved from his home on 123 Mark Twain Avenue to apartments above the Nevada Club, from which he rarely strayed. Fitzgerald was so afraid of another attack that he never allowed his picture to be taken. Even today, the Nevada Historical Society has no photos of Fitzgerald in its extensive photo archives.
It is unknown what happened to the partnership between Sullivan and Fitzgerald, whether there was a buy out, or death, or other circumstance left Fitzgerald as sole owner of the Nevada Club.
The Nevada Club was run on a daily basis by Lincoln and Meta Fitzgerald, without squads of vice presidents, or other corporate officers. When a dealer applied for a job, Lincoln Fitzgerald did not ask for an application form. Instead, he would ask a question such as "What is 17 times 17? " After giving the correct answer (289) Fitzgerald would raise his hand and signal to his wife, Meta, the signal that you had been hired. The reason for the question was that in roulette, if the player bets 17 chips on two numbers and wins, the payoff is 289.
A dealer who worked at the Nevada Club learned a lot from Lincoln Fitzgerald about business. Fitzgerald was one of the richest men in Nevada and his club had the biggest bankroll in Nevada. The club was small and run-down, but it had the biggest money behind it. It was the only club anywhere in Nevada at the time where a player could bet one thousand dollars on a number. One thousand dollars meant nothing to Lincoln Fitzgerald. His net worth was more than one hundred million dollars. Other clubs, bigger in size, operated on a shoestring. Yet, every morning he came down from the cubicle where he slept inside the club behind the cashier's box and counted the slot machine nickels.
Lincoln Fitzgerald died in Washoe Medical Center in 1981, five years after opening the downtown casino that still bears his name. His widow, Meta, passed away in March 2004 at the age of 92."
