A RADIO INTERVIEW OF "30 ILLEGAL YEARS"

February 9, 2010  Tuesday

I remain busy working on my next history of the Nevada gambling industry. Today, I was called for a radio interview by a network of stations in the states of Kansas and Texas, and I discussed my most recent history book "30 Illegal Years To The Strip".

THE MODERNIZATION OF MY WEBSITE BillFriedmanAuthor.com

 

November 14, 2020  Saturday

 

My website has a new image. The title photo on the main page has pictures of the hoodlums who had such a great impact on the development of the early Las Vegas Strip gambling resorts. The title photo on the subpages contains pictures of Benny Binion and Moe Dalitz, who were two of Las Vegas greatest casino operators.

 

These two men greatly assisted me in my historical research and casino management career. The subpages title photo shows both of them smiling, which is the way they always were in all the years I knew them. Both had great senses of humor, and neither could talk about serious issues without regularly throwing in really funny lines that would break me up.

 

The website has been designed, so it will be easy to add information about my upcoming history book on the first page, and detailed information on new subpages that will be devoted to it.

 

My next history book will be completed by summer, and it should be published by this time next year. When my manuscript enters the production process in the fall, I will start writing a monthly email newsletter to update readers on how it is going, and how I am proceeding on my next historical manuscript.

MY FIRST QUOTE IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

March 26, 2020  Thursday

The Wall Street Journal quoted me today in its article about how long it might be for the closed Las Vegas casinos to reopen and become busy again. I explained that the many uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible for me to make a meaningful guess. My quote is below, following the reporter’s lead in line.

I expect to finish my latest history manuscript later this year. When it is complete, I will begin making occasional blog posts about the publication process, leading up to its expected release in late Spring 2021.

REVIEW OF “30 ILLEGAL YEARS” BY “CASINO COLLECTIBLE NEWS”

April 29, 2019   Monday

The “Casino Collectible News” magazine spring edition reviewed “30 Illegal Years to the Strip”. I am very appreciative for the fine review in their very classy and colorful publication. Interestingly, my book is about the men who built most of the Las Vegas Strip resorts that produced so many of the old chips and other casino collectibles that their members trade in.

I am nearing the half way point in my next history of the Nevada casino industry that explores and reveals its fascinating early years up to 1950. I expect to publish it in November next year. When I enter the home stretch, I will begin discussing the many relevant issues, early casinos, and colorful gambling pioneers who laid the groundwork for this industry.

Most of the early casino owners and executives were devoted gamblers themselves, so they understood what their players wanted and expected. Thus, their casinos offered a much more exciting and personalized gambling experience than is found in the megaresort era casinos, which so changed it all since the 1990s.

BACK ON CLEAR-CHANNEL RADIO AGAIN

September 19, 2018   Wednesday

I just finished my seventh interview with Morgan White Jr. on his clear-channel broadcast from Boston that reaches the eastern two-thirds of the country. In our hour-and-a-half discussion, we covered the leaders, and their close associates, of the three biggest Prohibition gangs, and the elegant illegal casinos they operated following its Repeal. These men then built 80% of the Las Vegas Strip resorts from the Flamingo in 1946 to Caesars Palace in 1966, all of which was detailed in my 30 Illegal Years To The Strip.

We also talked about these men’s incredible influence over politics in their cities from the 1920s through the 1940s. At the same time, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover prohibited his agents from investigating organized crime. In fact, during the 48 years of his tenure, he annually lied to the President of the United States, the Congress, and the American people by falsely claiming that there was no such thing as organized crime or the Mafia, as documented in my All Against The Law.

In addition, we discussed the early years of legalized casinos in Nevada and the illegal casinos that preceded them. This was from the manuscript I am currently working on that covers the early history of Nevada casinos - the illegal casinos of the Roaring ‘20s, the legalized casinos of the 30’s Great Depression, the development of the Las Vegas Strip during WWII, and the huge growth of casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe during the major post-War economic boom of the late 1940s. I am about half way through this manuscript, and I hope to have it completed by the end of next year 2019.

SPOKE AT FIRST MOB WORLD SUMMIT

June 17, 2018   Sunday

Today, I spoke at the first MobWorld Summit. It was held in Las Vegas at the Plaza Hotel convention center near the Mob Museum, where some of the forum’s events were presented. This new organization is for people interested in the history of American gangland, and it is promoted by Larry Henry. He is a former Las Vegas Sun newspaper editor, and he was a teacher of journalism at the Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, Arkansas before becoming headmaster.

At the Summit, I presented the authentic histories of the top gangsters who built 80% of the Las Vegas Strip resorts from the Flamingo in 1946 to Caesars Palace in 1966, as presented in my 30 Illegal Years to the Strip. I also presented how these men taught me the casino business and positively influenced both my career and my development into manhood.

The audience was knowledgeable about mob history and was invigorated, asking me questions for a couple hours after my presentation. I talked with a few former associates, as well as some of my former UNLV students, and they brought back many wonderful memories.

I also visited with a couple of friends. One is former Kansas City Detective Gary Jenkins, who assisted FBI agents for a year to build the Las Vegas Strip casino skimming cases fictionalized in the movie Casino (1995). He wrote the fine book Leaving Vegas, which contains many FBI wiretapped transcripts of the Midwest Mafia gang leaders discussing their casino skimming activities. The other is Casey McBride, who is an expert on Frank Costello. He presents information about this top gangster on his websites FrankCostelloHistory.com and NationalCrimeSyndicate.com. What a great time I had!

This photo was taken after my MobWorld Summit speech. To the left is former KCPD Detective Gary Jenkins, and in the center is event developer Larry Henry. Their backgrounds are above.