1989 Press Photo Benny Binion at Statue - sap66978 This is an original press photo. Benny BinionPhoto measures 10 x 8inches. PHOTO FRONT PHOTO BACK. Historic Images Part Number: sap66978. Mug shots of Ted Binion taken in August 1997. Lonnie Theodore Binion (November 28, 1943 – September 17, 1998), or Ted Binion, was a wealthy American gambling executive and one of the sons of famed Las Vegas casino magnate Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe.

Benny Binion at the 1979 World Series of Poker
Born
November 20, 1904
Pilot Grove, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 5, 1989 (aged 85)
NationalityAmerican
Years active1924–1989
Known forOrganized Crime and Gambling
Spouse(s)Teddy Jane
Children5, including Jack Binion and Ted Binion

Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 5, 1989) was an American gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area. He would later relocate to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and open the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.

Early history[edit]

Binion was born and raised in Pilot Grove, Texas in Grayson County, north of Dallas. His parents initially kept him out of school due to poor health. His father, a horse trader, let him accompany him on trips. While the outdoor life restored his health, Binion never had any formal education.[1] As he traveled with his father, the young man learned to gamble, a favorite pastime when horse traders met up with farmers and merchants during county fair trade days.[2]

Criminal history[edit]

Binion's FBI file reveals a criminal history dating back to 1924, listing offenses such as theft, carrying concealed weapons, and two murder convictions.[3]

Binion moved to El Paso when he was 18, where he began moonshining during the Prohibition Era.[4] A year later, Binion moved to Dallas where he again set up moonshining operations, for which he was twice convicted.[5] In addition to his moonshining, in 1928, Binion opened up an even more lucrative numbers game.[6]

In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing an African Americanrum-runner, Frank Bolding, 'cowboy style.'[7] This was the origin of Binion's 'Cowboy' nickname.[8] Binion received a two-year suspended sentence.[8]

In 1936, Binion established a network of private dice games at several Dallas hotels, including the Southland Hotel in downtown Dallas. This came to be known as the Southland Syndicate.[9] By the end of 1936, Binion had gained control of most gambling operations in Dallas, with protection from a powerful local politician.[10]

In 1936, Binion and a henchman killed a numbers operator and competitor, Ben Frieden, emptying their pistols into him. Binion then allegedly shot himself in the shoulder and turned himself in to police, claiming that Frieden had shot him first. Binion was indicted, but the indictment was later dismissed on the grounds that Binion had acted in self-defense.[11] In 1938, Binion and another henchmen allegedly killed Sam Murray, another of Binion's competitors in the gambling rackets. Binion was never indicted for this murder, and charges were dropped against his henchmen.[10]

By the early 1940s, Binion had become the reigning mob boss of Dallas. He then sought to take over the gambling rackets in Fort Worth. The local mob boss of that city, Lewis Tindell, was murdered shortly afterwards.[12]

The Chicago Outfit made a successful move into Dallas after World War II. With the 1946 election of a Dallas County Sheriff Steve Gutherie, Binion lost his fix with the local government and fled to Las Vegas.[13]

While in Dallas, Binion had begun a long-running feud with Herbert Noble, a small-time Dallas gambler, which continued after Binion moved to Las Vegas. Binion demanded that Noble increase his payoff to Binion from 25 to 40 percent, which Noble refused to do.[14] Binion posted a reward on Noble's scalp that eventually reached $25,000 and control of a Dallas crap game.[7] Noble survived numerous attempts on his life, sometimes narrowly escaping with gunshot wounds. In November 1949, Noble's wife was killed in a car bombing intended for him.[7] In retaliation, Noble planned to fly his private plane to Las Vegas to bomb Binion's house, but was restrained by local law enforcement before he could execute his plan.[7] In August 1951, as Herbert Noble drove up to his mailbox, a bomb exploded nearby, killing him instantly.[15]

Binion

Binion lost his gambling license in 1951, and was sentenced to a five-year term in 1953 at Leavenworth federal penitentiary for tax evasion.[16]

Benny

Casino years[edit]

Benny Binion with his youngest daughter Becky (eventual owner of Binion's Horseshoe) in front of the famous $1 million display (c. 1969).

In Las Vegas, Binion became a partner of the Las Vegas Club casino, but left after a year due to licensing problems.[17] In 1949, Benny opened the Westerner Gambling House and Saloon, but he soon sold out after conflicts with his casino partners.[18]

In 1951, he purchased the Eldorado Club and the Apache Hotel, opening them as Binion's Horseshoe casino, which immediately became popular because of the high limits on bets. He initially set a crapstable limit of $500, ten times higher than the limit at his competitors of the time.[19] As a result of outdoing the competition, Binion received death threats, although eventually casinos raised their limits to keep up with him. Additionally, the Horseshoe would allow a bet of any size from a player as long as the bet was no larger than the player's initial bet.[20]

Benny Binion Hale

Binion was in the vanguard of Las Vegas casino innovation. He was the first in the downtown Glitter Gulch to replace sawdust-covered floors with carpeting, the first to dispatch limousines to transport customers to and from the casino, and the first to offer free drinks to players.[19] Although comps were standard for high rollers, Binion gave them to all players.[21] He also shied away from the gaudy performing acts typical of other Las Vegas casinos.[19]

Binion said he followed a simple philosophy when serving his customers: 'Good food, good whiskey cheap, and a good gamble.'[19][22]

Binion was known to be generous to patrons. For many years the Horseshoe had a late night $2 steak special, with most of the meat for the steaks coming from cattle on Binion's ranches in Montana. The Horseshoe is also believed to be the first major casino to offer 100-times-odds at craps (a patron with a bet on the pass or don't-pass lines could take or lay up to 100 times their bet in odds).[citation needed] The Horseshoe was one of the more profitable casinos in town.[20]

One of the tourist attractions in Binion's was a large horseshoe with $1 million in $10,000 bills, embedded in plastic.

After his trial and conviction in 1953, to cover back taxes and legal costs, Binion sold a majority share in the Horseshoe to fellow gambler and New Orleans oilman Joe W. Brown.[23] Binion’s family regained controlling interest in the Horseshoe in 1957, but did not regain full control until 1964.[24] Benny was never allowed to hold a gaming license afterwards. Instead, his son Jack became the licensee, with Benny assuming the title of Director of Public Relations.[25]

Binion styled himself a cowboy throughout his life. He almost never wore a necktie, and used gold coins as buttons on his cowboy shirts. Despite being technically barred from owning guns, he carried at least one pistol all his life, and kept a sawed-off shotgun close by. His office was a booth in the downstairs restaurant, and he knew many of his customers by name.

Poker[edit]

Benny Binion didn’t consider himself to be very good at poker, nor did he participate much in competition or private cash games, preferring to organize them. He was, however, inducted posthumously, in 1990, into the Poker Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game.[26]

Family[edit]

Binion and his wife, Teddy Jane, had five children: two sons, Jack and Ted, and three daughters, Barbara, Brenda and Becky.

Jack and Ted took over as president and casino manager, respectively, in 1964. Benny's wife, Teddy Jane, managed the casino cage until her death in 1994. In 1998, Binion's daughter, Becky, took over the presidency after a legal battle, and Jack moved on to other gambling interests. Becky's presidency saw the casino sink into debt. In 2004, federal agents seized $1 million from the Horseshoe's bankroll to satisfy unpaid union benefits, forcing its closure and eventual sale to Harrah's Entertainment.[27] It now operates as Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel under the ownership of TLC Gaming Group.

Ted was under nearly constant scrutiny from the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1986 onwards for his involvement in drugs and associating with known mob figures. His gaming license was revoked in 1989, and he died in mysterious circumstances about a decade later. Ted's live-in girlfriend (Sandra Murphy) and a man with whom she was having an affair (Rick Tabish) were charged and convicted of his murder, but the verdict was later overturned. They were retried and acquitted.[28]

Legacy[edit]

In January 1949, Binion arranged for Johnny Moss and 'Nick the Greek' Dandalos to play a head-to-head poker tournament which ended up lasting five months, with Nick the Greek ultimately losing a reported two million dollars. The 42-year-old Moss had to take breaks to sleep occasionally, during which the Greek, then 57, went over to the craps table and played. After the final hand, and losing millions of dollars, Nick the Greek uttered one of the most famous poker quotes of all time, 'Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.' (This narrative is disputed as fact and is most likely a myth. Binion didn't operate a casino until 1951 in Las Vegas.)

In 1970, after years of arranging heads-up matches between high-stakes players, Binion invited six players to compete in a tournament.[29] Playing no-limit Texas Hold'em, the players competed for cash at the table, and later took a vote on who was to be named champion. Johnny Moss, then 63, was voted champion by his younger competition and received a small trophy. The following year, a freeze-out format was introduced with a $10,000 buy-in, and the World Series of Poker was born.

Binion's creation of the World Series helped the game of poker spread and become popular. Binion himself greatly underestimated how popular the World Series would become. In 1973, he speculated that eventually the tournament might have 50 or so entrants.[30] However, by 2006, the tournament's main event (not including all of the other events) would have 8,773 entrants.

Benny never forgot his Texas roots and was a key player in getting the National Finals Rodeo to move to Las Vegas. He never forgot the cowboys after they arrived; he always paid the entry fees for all of the cowboys for their championship event. When the casino closed, Boyd Gaming took up the tradition that Binion started by continuing to pay all the entry fees. Every year during the NFR there is a large rodeo stock auction called 'Benny Binion's World Famous Bucking Horse and Bull Sale.'

Benny Binion was also the owner of a horse named 'Nigger' (later referred to as 'Benny Binion's Gelding') who was the 1946, 1947 and 1948 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) World Champion.[31] Bred by Binion, ridden and trained by George Glascock, the solid black 15 hand gelding is the only horse to capture the NCHA World Championship three years in a row.[32]

Death[edit]

Binion died of heart failure at the age of 85 on December 5, 1989 in Las Vegas.[33] Poker great 'Amarillo Slim' Preston suggested as an epitaph, 'He was either the gentlest bad guy or the baddest good guy you'd ever seen.'[34] He was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1990.

In popular culture[edit]

Relativity Media bought the screen rights to the book Blood Aces: The Wild Ride Of Benny Binion to be written for the screen by Cliff Dorfman, which will be a biopic on Binion's life.[35]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), pp. 7-9. ISBN9780143127581
  2. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), pp. 12-13. ISBN9780143127581
  3. ^Reid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, p. 154; Jay Robert Nash, World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime (1993). Da Capo Press
  4. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 13-14. ISBN9780143127581
  5. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 23. ISBN9780143127581
  6. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 27. ISBN9780143127581
  7. ^ abcdGary Cartwright, Benny and the Boys, Texas Monthly, October 1991
  8. ^ abDoug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 25. ISBN9780143127581
  9. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), pp. 52-53. ISBN9780143127581
  10. ^ abReid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, pp. 156-157.
  11. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), pp. 45-47. ISBN9780143127581
  12. ^Reid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, p. 158.
  13. ^Reid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, p. 160.
  14. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), pp. 74-75. ISBN9780143127581
  15. ^Reid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, pp. 157-176.
  16. ^Reid, Ed, and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle. Buccaneer Books, pp. 176-177.
  17. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 120. ISBN9780143127581
  18. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 121. ISBN9780143127581
  19. ^ abcdLinda Chase. Picturing Las Vegas, (Layton: Gibbs Smith, 2009), p. 17. ISBN9781423604884
  20. ^ abA. D. Hopkins, Benny Binion, Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 7, 1999
  21. ^Jack Sheehan. The Players: The Men Who Made Las Vegas, (University of Nevada Press, 1997), p. 62. ISBN087417306X
  22. ^Oral History, Lester 'Benny' Binion, University of Nevada, Reno, 1976
  23. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 214-15. ISBN9780143127581
  24. ^Retrospective on Horseshoe's history from UNLV Center for Gaming Research
  25. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 246. ISBN9780143127581
  26. ^'Benny Binion's Life: Biggest Profits, Losses and Net Worth'. Somuchpoker. January 24, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  27. ^Binion's Horseshoe: Deal with Harrah's finalized. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2004-01-23
  28. ^'Las Vegas City Life'. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  29. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 257. ISBN9780143127581
  30. ^Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 309. ISBN9780143127581
  31. ^Michelson, Miles. 'Nigger'. www.allbreedpedigree.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  32. ^Sage, Dean (1961). Training and riding the cutting horse. Western Horseman. p. 12.
  33. ^'Benny Binion Is Dead; Casino Owner Was 85'. The New York Times. December 27, 1989. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  34. ^''The Baddest Good Guy You'd Ever Seen''. The New York Times. December 24, 2005.
  35. ^Fleming, Mike. 'Relativity Buys 'Blood Aces'; Story Of Benny Binion, The Cowboy-Gangster-Killer Who Hatched World Series Of Poker'. Deadline. Retrieved January 13, 2015.

Further reading[edit]

  • Ann Arnold. 1998. Gamblers & Gangsters: Fort Worth's Jacksboro Highway in the 1940s & 1950s Eakin Press
  • Cathy Scott. 2000. Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case 1st Book Library
  • Jim Gatewood. 2002. Benny Binion: The legend of Benny Binion, Dallas gambler and mob boss Mullaney Corp
  • Jay Robert Nash, 1993. World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime Da Capo Press
  • Ed Reid and Ovid Demaris. 1963. The Green Felt Jungle Buccaneer Books
  • Gary Sleeper. 2006. I'll Do My Own Damn Killin': Benny Binion, Herbert Noble, and the Texas Gambling War Barricade Books
  • Doug J. Swanson. 2014. Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, The Texas Gangster Who Created Las Vegas Poker, Penguin ISBN9780698163508

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benny Binion.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benny_Binion&oldid=1002612296'

Benny Binion was a casino magnate and alleged mob boss who cemented his place in history as a gaming legend. His gambling career which saw ruthless determination and spanned over thirty-five years. He was known to be ruthless to his foes but fair to all who worked with and around him.

In an industry that was too faint-hearted to take a high bet, Benny infused courage. He literally forced gambling houses to change from sawdust joints to classy, carpeted casinos. He was one of the boosters who made Las Vegas the home of the National Finals Rodeo. He founded the World Series of Poker in 1970.

Early Life and Education

Benny Binion Death

Benny Binion was born “Lester Ben Binion” on November 4, 1904, in Pilot Grove, Texas (near Dallas). His father was a horseshoe trader. Benny was always falling ill as a child, so his father decided to take him on his horse trading trip hoping that the outdoor life would restore his health. It seemed to work, because the trips ended up helping him a great deal.

Benny never received a formal education. As he accompanied his father on different trips, he gradually learned the art of gambling, a favorite past time of horse traders, farmers, and merchants during that time when they all met during country fair trade days.

Business Career

Benny became skilled in both the horse riding business and gambling. He was initially an errand boy for gamblers by directing people towards gambling joints, but he also made money as a bootlegger. In 1922, when he was 18 years old, he began moonshining. A year later in 1923, he moved to Dallas where he made arrangements for moonshining operations for which he was convicted twice. In 1924, he was arrested for various crimes including theft, carrying concealed weapons, and murder.

In 1928, Benny opened a lucrative numbers game and was doing very well. However, one of the problems he had was that he did not do well with rivals. In 1931 at the age of 27, he was convicted of shooting and killing Frank Bodling, an African-American rum-runner whom he had argued with in a backyard, cowboy style. This incident earned him the nickname “cowboy” and he received a two-year suspended sentence.

Southland Syndicate

In 1936, an unofficial policy of tolerance towards minor vices was adopted by the Dallas government, to host the Texas Continental celebration. Gamblers were not put out of business by police, but they were continually raided. Benny established a network of private dice games at several Dallas hotels, including Southland Hotel. This was later known as the Southland Syndicate.

Because of the incessant police raids, Benny had craps tables built specially in crates labeled “hotel beds.” These crates could be easily carried if there was half an hour’s notice that they were going to be raided. By the end of 1936, Benny gained control of most gambling operations in Dallas, with protection from a powerful local politician.

Notable Feuds

Benny was known to fight his rivals and eliminated most of them over the years. In 1936, Benny had a feud with Ben Frieden. Together with a henchman, they emptied their pistols on Frieden, after which Benny shot himself on the shoulder, making it look like a gunfight. He then turned himself into the police, saying that Frieden fired the first shot. He was charged with murder, but the charges were later dropped on the grounds that Benny acted in self-defense.

Two years later in 1938, Benny and his henchmen shot one of his rivals in the gambling business, Sam Murray. Benny was never indicted for this murder and all charges against his henchmen were dropped. Benny eventually became a mob boss and was in charge of gambling in Dallas in the 1940s. He later killed the mob boss of Fort Worth, Lewis Tindell, to take over the gambling rackets in the entire area surrounding Dallas.

Move to Las Vegas and Herbert Noble Feud

At the end of World War II, Benny and the Chicago Mob moved to Dallas. In the 1946 election for Dallas County Sherriff, Benny supported one of the candidates by bribing him, but the candidate lost to Steve Gutherie. This caused Benny to lose his fix with the local government and he fled to Las Vegas with his family.

Benny had a long-running feud with Herbert Noble, who was a gambler in Dallas. Benny demanded that Noble increase his payoff from 25% to 40%, which Noble refused to do. Because of this, Benny posted a reward on Noble’s head that eventually reached $25,000 and control of a Dallas crap game. Benny tried to kill Noble twelve times, but Noble survived all attempts.

Noble was called “The Cat” for he was thought to have nine lives. In 1946 he was shot in the back, in 1948 his car was riddled with bullets, in November 1949 a bomb was planted in his car to kill him, but unfortunately, his wife was killed. Noble blamed Benny for the death of his wife and spent the rest of his life trying to even the score.

Benny Binion Find A Grave

Noble was a pilot, and in 1951 a police officer caught Noble rigging an airplane with two large bombs, one high explosive, and one incendiary. He had a map with Benny Benny’s Las Vegas home and it was clearly marked. Later that year in 1951, Noble was killed by a bomb that went off as he tried to open his mailbox.

Benny denied responsibility for the death of Noble and his wife. Benny lost his gambling license that same year. He was charged with tax evasion and was sentenced to a five-year jail term in 1953 at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.

Binion’s Horseshoe Casino

Benny Binion Mafia

Benny acquired the Eldorado Club on Fremont Street in 1951 and renamed it “Binion’s Horseshoe”. It became popular because of its high limit games. Benny set the craps limits to $500, which was ten times higher than the maximums set at other casinos. Most people in the gambling industry did not like Benny’s limits, but they had no choice than to raise theirs if they wanted high rollers coming into their casinos.

The way Benny ran his casino stood out from the rest. The Horseshoe Casino is the first major casino to offer 100 times odds at craps. He was the first in downtown Glitter Gulch to replace sawdust covered floors with carpeting, the first to have limousines pick up customers at the airport, and the first to offer free drinks to slot machine players. Benny’s philosophy when serving his customers was “Good food, good whiskey, and a good gamble”. With all of his ingenuity and business skills, The Horseshoe became one of the most profitable casinos in town.

Benny was convicted of tax evasion in 1953 and he had to sell a majority share in The Horseshoe to cover all of his legal costs. The Binion family regained controlling interest in 1957, but it was not until 1964 before they gained full control. Benny never held a gambling license after going to prison – instead, Jack Binion, his son, became the licensee and was president, while Benny assumed the title “Director of Operations.”

Benny styled himself a cowboy all through his life. He almost never wore a necktie and used gold coins as buttons on his cowboy shirts. Even when he was technically barred from owning guns, he carried at least one pistol with him at all times and also kept a sawed-off shotgun close by. His office was a booth in the downstairs restaurant, and he knew many of his customers by name.

World Series of Poker (WSOP)

In 1970, Benny invited six of the well-known poker places to the Horseshoe for a single tournament. They would compete for cash at the table, after which they would vote for a winner. The next year, a freeze-out format with a $10,000 buy-in was introduced, and the World Series of Poker was born. Johnny Moss, 63, was the first winner of the World Series of Poker.

Benny created the World Series to help the game of poker spread and become popular. He, however, underestimated the popularity of the game. In 1973, he dared to speculate that someday the tournament may have 50 or more entrants; the WSOP main event in 2006 alone had 8,773 entrants.

Personal Life and Death

On December 25, 1989, Benny died of congestive heart failure at the Valley Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 85.

Benny Binion Book

Benny married Teddy Jane and they have five children, two sons, Jack and Ted, and three daughters, Barbara, Brenda, and Becky. Jack and Ted took over as president and casino manager respectively in 1964, while their mother, Teddy, managed the casino cage until her death in 1994.

Benny Binion Death

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