by Cynthia Wall

Created on: February 20, 2009

As gold and silver flowed out of the Comstock mines in the 1800's and made its way down to Carson City to the Carson City mint, it was inevitable that gambling would be a part of the city scene. Card and dice games abounded in salons and back rooms and because of the lawless time, losers (or winners) were often shot. But as the days of the Wild West simmered down into respectable cities instead of frontier towns, Carson City became known for three things: The Capitol of Nevada; A historical mining town; and a fun place to visit and gamble.

Thirty miles south of Reno on US-395, Carson City sits in a green valley flanked by the rugged High Sierras. Named after frontier explorer Kit Carson who led explorers to the town in 1858, this capitol city covers 155.7 square miles, small in comparison to other state capitols. But its history is huge and its state museum, once the Carson City Mint, is reason enough to stop and visit. Nowadays, there are many casinos to lure visitors through their doors as well.

The first legal gambling establishment to open in Carson City was The Carson Nugget in 1954 under the ownership of the Hop and Howard Adams and the direction of Richard Graves. Graves said he didn't know what would happen because Carson City was a sleepy little town with little business, but the casino took right off. Graves worked hard to popularize what is now the oldest continuously operating casino in Carson City. He later founded other Nugget casinos including what later became John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks.

Both the Adams and Graves had moved to Nevada when gambling was banned in their home state of Idaho. The Adams brothers enlarged the original building of The Carson Nugget by buying buildings on the block at the corner of Robinson and Carson Streets. They continued the tradition of offering a free Thanksgiving dinner that Graves started in 1954. The 1980's were a very busy time for the casino and a 60,000 square-foot expansion was started in 1982. In 1989, the casino had 600 employees, 250 more than it has now.

Currently, the 80,000 square foot casino is owned by Howard Adam's son, Alan, and Hop's wife, Mae. Eventually it will be bought by an unnamed developer but the Adams family has said that it will continue to be operated by the Adams family as a nonprofit benefiting local charities.

The Carson Nugget is no longer alone in Carson City. Here are some other popular casinos.

BEST WESTERN CARSON STATION HOTEL-CASINO, 900 South Carson St.

CACTUS JACK'S CASINO, 420 North Carson St.

CASINO FANDANGO, 3800 S. Carson St.

COMSTOCK CASINO, 3680 Goni Road.

GOLD DUST WEST CASINO HOTEL, 2171 Highway 50 East.

SILVER DOLLAR CASINO, 1897 N. Edmonds.

SLOTWORLD, 3879 Highway 50 East.

One thing you won't find in any of the local casinos is a real silver dollar (except in a display case). The casinos stopped giving out real silver decades ago when the value of a silver dollar became far more than one dollar. For the lucky ones who have CC minted silver dollars, the value is up to $1000.

These days, Carson City casinos are worried about getting any kind of dollars. The economic meltdown has hit the gaming industry hard as people struggle to own homes and feed their families with nothing left over for entertainment. But for a city built on pioneer spirit and Comstock precious metals, it's a good bet that the good times will return sometime in the future. If you're going through Carson City, stop and try your luck. It's been a lucky place for over 150 years.

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