It's a grapevine story so keep that in mind. I heard Tuna actually put the name on himself as a cover for his prowess in poker games.
As for the weddings rings when Nevada legalized gambling in the early thirties they also legalized no fault divorce, but with the qualifier that one had to be a six-week resident of the state. Reno became the divorce capitol of the U.S. Women came from all over to divorce. In those days landlords rented by six-weeks not by the month.
One lady, after receiving her divorce papars, walked out onto the Virginia Street bridge over the Truckee river. She cast here wedding band into the river. It caught on with other women and became a traditon.
In the movie "The Misfits, 1961" Marilyn Monroe and Thelma Ritter are standing on the bridge with Marilyn, just divorced, having her wedding band in hand when Thelma says "Go ahead, honey, throw it."
After several decades of rings going into river it was Tuna Lund who waded out with a geiger counter or something like that and came up with a couple coffee cans full of rings.
