Inside Nevada Gambling: Adventures of a Winning System Player

Tight Binding. First edition, third printing, December 1965, as stated on the copyright page. Exposition Press Inc., New York, 1965. Hardcover in yellow-green cloth with contrasting lettering on the front cover and spine. Dust jacket absent. Covers show scattered small marks, light soiling, and rubbing, with wear and slight bumping at the corners and spine ends. Visible interior pages show age toning. Signed by author in blue ink on the front free endpaper. Front pastedown bears an illustrated bookplate reading “From the Research Library of Raymond J. Goulet.” Goulet’s embossed library seal appears on the title leaf. From the research library and estate collection of magician and noted magic and gambling collector Raymond J. Goulet. Please Zoom Photos. Signed by author. Glenn L. Fraikin’s 1965 account of Nevada gambling, subtitled Adventures of a Winning System Player, offers a period perspective on gambling and system play. This copy is the third printing of the first edition and comes from Raymond J. Goulet’s research library and estate collection Raymond J. “Ray” Goulet (1930–2017) was a professional magician, publisher, and prominent collector whose interests encompassed conjuring history, theatrical memorabilia, and gambling devices. Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, his Magic Art Studio housed a museum, shop, theater, and gathering place for magicians. His collection included historic apparatus, posters, books, sheet music, and Houdini memorabilia, reflecting decades devoted to preserving the material history of magic. Goulet’s importance as a collector extended directly into gambling memorabilia. His gambling-device collection was included in Potter & Potter’s January 2011 Gambling Memorabilia Auction, while a dedicated April 2019 auction featured his magic collection and material from his Mini-Museum of Magic. This background makes his ownership especially relevant to a volume concerning Nevada gambling and system play. This copy retains both Goulet’s illustrated research-library bookplate and his embossed ownership seal. Together with Fraikin’s signature and its estate provenance, these features distinguish the volume for collectors of signed gambling books, Nevada gaming literature, and material associated with significant magic collections.…