This teepee is an exact replica of the first “Gambling-Casino Teepee” in, what is now called, the United States. The original was located in the arid desert of Nevada in a small village with a long Indian name that roughly translates into “Lost Wages”.

In 1937, the casino was owned and run by Pokerhontas, depicted here in her traditional Native American Indian garb. She was a direct descendant of a Native American Indian maiden and John Smith.

Every young Native American Indian dreamed of becoming a casino owner, just as young Chinese children dreamed of owning a laundry, and as young Irish boys dreamt of becoming a bar owner and young Jewish children dreamt of becoming a doctor.

One day a Greyhound bus broke down near Pokerhontas’ teepee while on its way from Texas to L.A. A few passengers got off the bus and stumbled upon the casino-teepee and started to gamble. They were having so much fun and made so much noise at the crap tables that soon all the other passengers entered the tent. Scantily clad Native American Indian maidens passed out free drinks to the players. In one corner an impromptu Native American Indian floorshow delighted the travelers who had lost all their money.

One of the passengers on the bus just happened to be the notorious Bugsey Siegel. After viewing all the gamblers crowding around the tables he immediately realized the appeal that a desert casino would have to gamblers from around the world. On the spot he bought the casino for $24 --- and as they say, “The rest is history.”

But, the story doesn’t end there. Each new generation of Native American Indian children grew up with the dream of owning a casino and of avenging the lousy deal that Bugsey gave Pokerhontas. And, as all fairy tales have a happy ending, this one does too.

HISTORICAL ADDENDUM FOR HISTORY BUFFS:

2005 marks the 25 th anniversary of the first Native American Casino on a reservation in the United States. The billions that pour through the slot machines at all the Native American casinos do filter through to those who still live on a reservation.

Last year each member of the Seminole tribe in Florida received $4,800, which one smiling Native American Indian was quoted as saying, “It ain’t chopped liver.”