Legendary comic Don Rickles, a Las Vegas showroom staple, has died

Don Rickles, who comically insulted Las Vegas audiences for seven decades and had a prominent role in Casino, died Thursday…


Florida Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr. died 30 years ago March 17

At 7:25 p.m. on January 3, 1953, Florida Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr. had just finished dinner with his wife…


Seventy years ago, Luciano’s Havana sojourn was cut short

Written February 2017 In 1946, Charles “Lucky” Luciano was persona non grata in America. Though he was granted a pardon…


The Hollywood legend, the Mob and the jukebox racket

The venerable actress and singer Debbie Reynolds, who died last week at age 84, was a risk-taker for decades when…


Gangster-built Golden Nugget turns 70

By the late summer of 1946, Guy McAfee was the best-known big shot in Las Vegas. McAfee, 58, had spent…


“Legend” is latest film portrayal of the Kray twins

The Kray twins, the volatile ex-boxers who went from extortion racketeers in 1950s London to nightclub-owning celebrity gangsters in the…