AFTER looking in the phone books I pulled out the Gaming Table, then Kling's Reno. Kinda did things backwards ?

Here's the scoop, according to Kling:

"222 and 246 Lake Street; licensed from August 1958 through October 1964 for 21, craps, poker, and keno.

The Happy Buddha Club was located at the former site of the Old Cathay Club. Licensed in July 1958 as owners of the Happy Buddha were Andrew Young, Henry Leong Jr., Frank Chung, and William Bailey. Their license was contingent on Moon Wyatt having no part of the operation.

The club opened in August 1958 at 222 Lake Street and operated at that address until October 1960. On that date, the club was moved to 246 Lake Street, and the name was changed to the China Mint. The licensees at the China Mint were the same individuals who owned the Happy Buddha--Young, Chung, Leong, and Bailey. From this time until the club closed in December 1964, many people were confused about its name--some still called the club the Happy Buddha, and others knew it as the China Mint.

The club catered primarily to Asian Customers. The property was very small and was as much a bar and hangout for local Asians as it was a casino.

The former location of the Happy Buddha (and China Mint) is now a parking lot."

The above was taken from "The Rise of the Biggest Little City An Encyclopedic History of Reno Gaming, 1931-1981" written by Dwayne Kling. An EXCELLENT source of Reno gaming history.