Screeno Screeno Screeno (a portmanteau of "screen bingo") was a form of bingo played in American movie theaters during the Great Depression of the 1930s. To bolster attendance on slow weeknights, the neighborhood movie houses would feature the game in which audience members would have a chance to win cash prizes. The story is that many a theater was saved from bankruptcy by the advent of Screeno (sometimes spelled in capitals: SCREENO). The game was played between the two main movie features. A number dial and a giant spinning needle were projected onto the movie screen. Patrons were provided with toothpicks
Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska has been significant throughout the city's history. From its founding in the 1850s through the 1930s, the city was known as a "wide-open" town, meaning that gambling of all sorts was accepted either openly or in closed quarters. By the mid-20th century, Omaha reportedly had more illicit gambling per capita than any other city in the nation. From the 1930s through the 1970s, the city's gambling was controlled by an Italian criminal element. Today, gambling in Omaha is limited to keno and slot machines, leaving Omahans to drive across the Missouri River