Benny Binion’s million-dollar gamble lives on 75 years later
On August 14, 1951, Benny Binion opened the Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas. Binion’s Horseshoe would become a cornerstone of the casino industry, particularly for downtown. It also made Binion a household name for both locals and tourists, as well as poker players the world over. But when the Horseshoe Club first opened, Binion’s footing was uncertain. His struggles in obtaining a gaming license also offer a fascinating case study for 1950s Las Vegas and just how committed—or not—state officials were in keeping the Nevada casino industry free from organized crime entanglements. From Texas rackets to Las Vegas casinos Binion moved to ...
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Irish drug kingpin’s whereabouts revealed through Google reviews
The longtime head of an Irish drug and weapons cartel has been posting Google restaurant reviews and travel tidbits from…
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Jack ‘Legs’ Diamond: The clay pigeon of the underworld
A bootlegger, enforcer, dopeman and erstwhile folk hero, Jack “Legs” Diamond was like a charming archvillain in a lurid detective…
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Twenty-five years ago, ‘Analyze This’ offered a comedic take on a Mafia boss under psychiatric care
When the movie Analyze This premiered in theaters 25 years ago, it portrayed a Mob boss far different from the…
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Artifact Spotlight: Hollywood prop guns
What’s a Mob movie without guns? Prop guns have been a part of this movie genre since the first silent…
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Dead men walking: Murder Inc. trio electrocuted at Sing Sing prison eighty years ago
Eighty years ago, Sing Sing’s electric chair, “Old Sparky,” delivered its sinister, life-ending jolts in succession to the trio of…
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Netflix crime drama ‘Griselda’ highlights story of ‘Godmother of Cocaine’
The Netflix limited series Griselda, inspired by the true story of the Colombian “Godmother of Cocaine,” tells the story of…
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The Top 5 Mob myths: Hollywood’s creative license drives misinformation
From The Godfather to Griselda, the Mob is firmly embedded in pop culture, which comes with a few drawbacks. In…
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