Richard 'Pick' Hobson came to be in Illinois on May 15, 1911. He headed west in 1929, eventually landing in Reno where he worked being a dealer on the Palace Club. After gaining some experience, plus some friends, Pick invested his profit a gaming operation at the Colombo Club at 244 Lake Street, inside the Colombo Hotel. The Toscano Hotel, just across town, housed advertising for Pick's clubs for many years, reminding those driving by, to go to his other casinos.
Joe Hobson, Pick's brother, joined him inside a casino found in the tiny capital of scotland - Hawthorne, Nevada during the Second World War, in the event the munitions facility was at full swing. Also in full swing were the constantly fighting service men in the city, working on the munitions facility. The Pick returned to Reno in 1943 and opened 'Pick's Club,' which reopened in 1946 because the Frontier Club when Joe purchased the casino at 220 North Virginia Street.
The casino featured a bar, craps, 21, and roulette, and also a race-horse book. A bingo hall was put in 1948, and 30 slot machines were brought-in by Virgil Smith. Later a Keno game was added along with the table games expanded. By 1956 once the club was sold to Bill Harrah, there were 172 slot machine games.
Harrah paid nearly $1 million for that casino, and part of get more info his price was a stipulation that Hobson would not operate another casino for three years. In 1960, Pick purchased the Overland Hotel, just around the corner on Commercial and Center Street. The club backed-up to his old Lake Street casino.
In 1970, Pick purchased the Cosmo Club, that she operated for four years until it had been closed so he could expand the Overland. At the same time, Pick was operating the Gold Club in Sparks, along with the Topaz Lodge in the California State Line.
Once again, Bill Harrah came knocking, offering to lease the Overland, but the hotel and casino immediately closed as well as the property was demolished in June 1977. The Cosmo Club was also demolished, and Harrah purchased the Riverside hotel casino from Jessie Beck and traded it to Hobson in exchange for your Overland and Cosmo Club land.
Pick Hobson was the last owner of the Riverside casino, which closed in December 1986. An auction of slots and memorabilia from your Riverside and the Overland occured, along with the hotel closed in November 1987. Pick gone after Portola, California soon afterwards. He passed on August 19, 1996, always remembered as a very congenial boss who did his far better to take care of his employees.