Binion's Million Dollar Horseshoe

November 1970 Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.  Jane and John (Bing) Grimsrud in front of a big plastic horseshoe displaying $1 million in $10,000 bills.[i] Tourists lined up to have their photos taken next to it, and night after night, Binion’s Horseshoe Casino bulged with gamblers.

Over the years we made numerous vacation getaway trips to this one-of-a-kind fantasyland in the desert. We stuffed ourselves with fabulous food, took in Broadway class floor shows, and comedy acts. The lights never went out in Vegas. We had to go home to rest up.

I recently read Blood Aces: Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker by Doug Swanson.  The book brought back memories of our fun-filled times in Las Vegas. 

The book is a biography of an implausible self-made renegade.  I loved this book that shifted my emotional allegiance from the side of law and order to underprivileged Benny Binion and his humble hard scrabble quest to make a living. Ruthless business competitors and governmental sting operations pushed by dispassionate power hungry technocratic zealots made this story stranger than fiction. An excellent true story well told.

Many tributes have been made to Benny Binion.  The following is excerpted from Blood Aces by Doug Swanson:

There were frequent tributes befitting a man of many years and much public generosity. He was named Man of the Year by the National Jewish Health hospital, as it showed institutional gratitude for big donations. A video produced for the ceremony featured testimonials from a number of Vegas luminaries, including another old racketeer in his dotage, Moe Dalitz. “He’s a very quiet man until he’s aroused,” Dalitz said of Binion. “But he’s never aroused unjustly.” Steve Wynn called Binion “the most unforgettable character I’ve ever met in my entire life,” and added, “He’s a perfectly honest man.” Others attested to the affection of Binion’s lifelong customers and compadres. “All the poker players love you,” said Bobby Baldwin, a former poker series champion. “You’re the greatest guy in the world.”

The old man in the cowboy hat smiled and waved. “Benny! Benny! Benny!” He had become the most beloved gangster of them all.

A quote from Benny Binion:

“The assumption was that if someone wanted to trade away a horse, that horse was defective. Everyone was out for the swindle, and he who swindled best, won.”

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[i] The above photo is from the book Sailing Beyond Lake Superior: Travels of Dursmirg by John M. Grimsrud.  The book is available from Amazon. com and other vendors in paperback, Kindle, and e-book editions.