July 5, 2017
Wednesday
I spoke this evening at the Las Vegas library about the
careers and lives of casino pioneers Moe Dalitz and Benny Binion. They were the
two biggest gangsters to move to the city and to own and operate casinos.
Dalitz built the first high-rolling casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip, the
Desert Inn, and the world’s biggest hotel and largest casino, the Stardust.
Benny Binion owned the Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas. It was the only
casino downtown that drew many of the big players, who stayed at the Strip
resorts, to make a lay down (the term for placing cash on a table wager).
I discussed the illegal gambling and Prohibition liquor
careers of Dalitz and Binion prior to their coming to Las Vegas, and also their
contributions in developing legal casino
operations in Nevada. Despite their earlier illegal careers, both men were
highly respected by the local residents who dealt with them and by the Nevada
gaming control authorities, because both were always cooperative with the
enforcers and followed all state regulations.
