Madison County Democrat

Reno Bookies Won't Take Bet On GOP Nomination

RENO (P)—If you want to bet on who gets the Republican presidential nomination, you'll have to find takers other than Reno's legal gamblers. As a rule they will take a wager on most anything but they aren't accepting bets on whether Sen. Robert A. Taft or Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower emerges the victor at next week's GOP convention at Chicago. There are a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the gamblers themselves can't agree on which side of the fence to play. One bookie says that if he posted odds, they would be heavy in Gen. Eisenhower's favor. Another disagrees. He says it will be Taft, hands down. A third bookie figures Ike for a slight edge. But don't send your money here. Even if Nevada's gamblers decided to take bets on the contest, they couldn't take yours unless you were in the state and could walk up to their counters. The State Tax Commission, which regulates all gambling in Nevada, has decreed that bookies cannot accept out-of-state bets and can take no wagers by telephone or telegraph even from within the state. These restrictions, plus threatening sounds from the tax commission about outlawing bookmaking altogether, have made the local bookies shy of national publicity—something they'd be sure to do if they posted nomination or election odds.