WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.679 It's night with Dan Ray. I'm telling you easy. 2 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.759 Power number three is underway if you would like to participate. 3 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:13.279 The gentleman I am about to introduce to you has 4 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:18.359 written a number of books, but his book on thirty 5 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:22.719 Years on the Strip is the book that we're going 6 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:28.960 to be focusing upon. He has another Vegas related book 7 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.840 within the year and a half two years. He keeps 8 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.920 busy and I always enjoy speaking with him. He and 9 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:42.039 I had a wonderful conversation earlier today because I needed 10 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:47.880 a guest. I had to get three guests for tonight's program, 11 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:52.600 and he helped me by saying yes to me. Bill. 12 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.520 Good evening to you, and thank you for saying yes. 13 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:58.240 Oh, thank you for inviting me. 14 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 Let's we're going to talk about the Vegas book, but 15 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:10.840 I also want to mention some of the thirties subjects 16 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:16.599 that we touched upon earlier, because at the time, one 17 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:24.439 of the biggest construction jobs in America was the Hoover Dam, 18 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.599 Hoover Dam, Boulderdam, Hoover Dam. We know if they settled 19 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:34.680 on Hoover, but they ran shifts twenty four hours a 20 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:40.120 day and they brought that whole project in years early 21 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:42.760 do you want to talk about that project. 22 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:51.200 You said it was enormous. It is a site that 23 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:57.439 beholds still today. And the strip as we know it 24 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:01.599 today was built on what was in the west side. Obviously, 25 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.040 the town's grown tremendously, so it's in the heart, but 26 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:09.919 it was then in the west side. The Boulder Dam 27 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.560 was on the east side, and when the people got 28 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.000 off work, I knew a number of people that had 29 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:21.120 worked on it, and between the heat and of course 30 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:26.080 they were up very high. This thing was built very tall. 31 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:29.120 On all there was was the river there and that 32 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:34.159 the huge water behind it didn't occur till the dam 33 00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:39.319 was completed and they were be exhausted, and so many 34 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:44.080 of them wanted to drink or gamble afterwards. And so 35 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.520 the original strip was built on the east side of 36 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.479 town on built Boulder Highway that people didn't want to 37 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:55.080 drive as far to get downtown. So there was a 38 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:59.800 string of bar casinos there and the people would come 39 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:04.159 in and drink and gamble and then they'd go back 40 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:08.639 to work. Well, they needed all of these workers, so 41 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:12.759 the laws as we know them today didn't apply when 42 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:17.439 the workers pulled up to get back in. They lived 43 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:23.159 there on the property. The guards smelled their breath and 44 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:26.159 if they had any sign of alcohol. They had a 45 00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:29.840 big parking pen right there. They'd send them in it 46 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:33.120 and tell them to go to sleep until they woke 47 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:35.479 up and didn't smell, and they wouldn't let them get 48 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:39.280 up on that high rise dam until they were sober. 49 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:43.000 But for the entire ten years that thing was built, 50 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:47.639 that pen was every shift the guys pulled in and 51 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.680 they said, nah, you go over there till you're ready 52 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:51.520 to go to work. 53 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.800 If you've been to Vegas recently, you live out there. 54 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:59.039 But I'm talking to my audience. We hit thirty eight 55 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:02.520 states and parts of Canada with our signal right now. 56 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:07.960 And if you've been to Vegas anytime over the past ten, fifteen, 57 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:14.199 maybe twenty years, you've noticed because it is a town 58 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:21.439 built for foot traffic. They even put walkways over the street. 59 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:25.399 So if you want to go from the Flamingo to Caesar's, 60 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:29.800 you don't have to cross the street. You go up 61 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.240 there's an elevator where you can walk upstairs, go across 62 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:38.439 the street on the pedestrian overpaths, and they've done that 63 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:44.160 various places on Las Vegas Boulevard. But as you walk 64 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.959 from hotel to hotel to hotel, you will notice a 65 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:52.480 lot of people on the street that, for lack of a 66 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:59.680 bit of term, are bums. They are homeless. They're holding 67 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:03.639 a up and asking for donations, and you just learned 68 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:07.240 to accept that as part of the landscape. But tell 69 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:14.480 people what an enterprising casino owner did back in the 70 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:18.879 forties with that sort of circumstance to make sure that 71 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.920 we didn't have bums on the street. 72 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:30.800 Well, it was actually during the depression, twenty five percent 73 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:35.279 of the workforce was out of work, and we developed 74 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:39.120 a group that were called hobos. And they're usually shown 75 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:45.120 as movies as just being bums that were on the railroads. 76 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:49.879 What it was was men would become unemployed and they 77 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.800 couldn't find any jobs in their towns, and they hopped 78 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:58.319 on box cars and rode to the next city and 79 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:02.800 tried to find jobs. And there was one of the 80 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:08.399 strip was started, or the downtown casinos were started nineteen 81 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:12.560 or legalized in nineteen thirty one, and one of the 82 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:16.959 owners there, because it was a very small town of 83 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:21.439 five thousand people, then one of the owners he had 84 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:29.639 his casino downstairs and his offices and everything, and nothing upstairs, 85 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:35.759 and this was a man who was a very dishonest man. 86 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:43.279 His tables were completely dishonest, ripped everybody off. I've never 87 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:47.839 liked anybody like that, but this guy won me over 88 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:52.959 because he had another side. He put cots across his 89 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:57.759 whole second floor, and when these guys would arrive in town, 90 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:01.959 he'd give him a cot for the night. He had 91 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.079 a shower and bathroom there for them to clean up. 92 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:09.040 And he he didn't have food. He made a deal 93 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.920 with a nearby restaurant and when they arrived that afternoon 94 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.079 or evening, he'd give him a dinner pass and they'd 95 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:20.000 take it to the restaurant. When they got up in 96 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.199 the morning, give him a breakfast pass. And many of 97 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:26.600 these people hadn't eaten for three four days, and they'd 98 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:29.000 try to find a job that they couldn't find it. 99 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:35.240 They were on the rails again. And he was one 100 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:38.680 of the most helpful people I ever met my life 101 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.680 to those in need. But anyone who got a job, 102 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.879 if they came in, he was going to try to 103 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:49.639 rip off every penny. He had these two different sides 104 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:53.759 to him, and because he had this good side, I 105 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:55.959 got to know that I really liked him as a 106 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:59.199 human being, but I would never want to do business 107 00:07:59.279 --> 00:07:59.680 with him. 108 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.879 The casino owner giveth and the casino owner taketh away. 109 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:06.519 Tell you what I've got to take a break, and 110 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.560 when we come back, I want to talk about the 111 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:16.360 movie Bugsy, that Warren Beatty film, and they toyed with 112 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.279 facts and truth, and I want to find out the 113 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:26.040 real truth of the history behind the Flamingo being erected. 114 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:29.920 And when I know you know the stories, you put 115 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:32.279 it in a book. And I also want to talk 116 00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:40.759 about some of the legends of Vegas. Joey Brown, many 117 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:45.639 people that we've either heard of or know a little about. 118 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.120 Let's talk about them when we come back. Okay, you 119 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:53.639 got it, Thank you. Time and temperature here on wbz's 120 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:57.879 Night Side ten fifteen forty four degrees. 121 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:02.519 Now that to Dan Ray live from the Window World 122 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:06.159 night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio. 123 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:10.519 Dan is auf tonight. I'm Morgan filling in and I've 124 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.120 been here since eight o'clock. Hopefully you have as well 125 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.679 for this hour up until eleven o'clock. Bill Friedman is 126 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:22.519 here and he wrote a book. Book came out within 127 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:27.399 the past eight nine years and it's Bill. Why don't 128 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:30.080 you give the exact title, because I don't want to 129 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:30.600 miss it out. 130 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:36.679 It's it's called thirty illegal Years to the Strip, and 131 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:43.960 what it's on of the strip started with high rolling 132 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:50.039 casinos in nineteen fifty and these resorts, eighty percent of 133 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:54.759 them over the next ten well actually twenty years, were 134 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.919 built by people that had been major illegal casino operator 135 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:05.720 around the country. Most had been in prohibition before, and 136 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:10.679 this is their history. Because these men were tied together, 137 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.759 they not only knew each other, but when guys had 138 00:10:15.879 --> 00:10:21.879 illegal casinos, you couldn't. There was no case I ever 139 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:26.519 found where someone had a casino in a city they 140 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:33.759 didn't live in. The Law enforcement and the prosecutors who 141 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:38.679 took payoffs to let them operate wanted them write there 142 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:43.320 under their thumb, so they had control over them. But 143 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:47.480 what would happen if they got shut down? They lost everything. 144 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:51.679 So these guys came up with an interesting system. I'll 145 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:56.039 give you an example. But they had a partnerships of 146 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:01.679 various financial arrangements, but it typically was five guys in 147 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:06.639 five major cities, generally in different states, would go together 148 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:09.639 and they'd each own twenty percent of each of the 149 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:14.840 other four people in every single case, and I investigated 150 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:19.120 and studied the history of each one. The owner that 151 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:24.440 lived in that city had absolute control. The other partners 152 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.159 were nothing but investors. They ran the show, and once 153 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:30.840 a year they'd get together and they'd all share their 154 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:35.519 profits in cash with each other. And that way, if 155 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.320 one of them got closed down, the guy lost his 156 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:42.279 whole business, but he still kept eighty percent of his income. 157 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:47.039 And so I didn't know how to write the history 158 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:51.559 of all these individual places when their backgrounds were so 159 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:56.360 tied together. So this book is the history of the 160 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:02.559 biggest Prohibition gangs, the biggest illegal casine operators in the 161 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:07.039 twenty From nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty four, they had 162 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:13.000 by far the biggest Prohibition gangs. And instead of what 163 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.879 you see on TV where they're creating very cheap booze, 164 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:22.639 these guys did nothing but sell the finest liquors from 165 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:28.919 around the world in the finest restaurants, all illegally, of course. 166 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:33.799 And then after thirty four prohibition ended, they had to 167 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:38.840 make money and they opened these incredible casinos. And I 168 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:43.320 write about them because some of them were just unbelievably 169 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:47.200 elegant and beautiful and all the rich showed up and 170 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.879 they catered to the rich, not to the average person, 171 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:52.840 did they. 172 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:57.799 Let's back up, what are the five cities? I remember Cleveland, 173 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.480 naturally New York. What are the the five cities where 174 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.960 these individuals operations? 175 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:10.639 Okay, well, the three biggest gangs. The biggest gang, uh 176 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:16.799 was one of the biggest two gangs were in uh Manhattan. 177 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:22.200 Manhattan had over half the wealthy people of the country 178 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:29.039 living there, so the income there was phenomenal and so 179 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:35.320 uh uh the there was The biggest group by far 180 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:41.279 was five equal partners, and that would include uh Meyer, 181 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:46.559 Lanski and Ben Siegel, who were Jewish. It included two 182 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:54.519 Italians Joe Adonnas and Vincent Ollo, and Vincinalo opened up 183 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:00.600 fabulous places outside of Miami. Later Donna's had one of 184 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:05.919 the most incredible casinos in New Jersey, right across from Manhattan. 185 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:12.600 And although they were equal partners, Charlie Luciano was so 186 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:17.759 incredibly respected. He was a very quiet man, but when 187 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:22.679 he spoke, everybody listened, and I felt it when I 188 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:27.120 got into the casino business. When his name came up, 189 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:31.759 it was like everybody stood because if he said something. 190 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:37.519 And these were the guys. All the casinos were dishonest 191 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:41.440 at that time, and these guys said, this is crazy. 192 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.600 All you're going to get is the addicted gamblers. We 193 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:50.080 want people that are out for entertainment regularly, and they're 194 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:57.320 the ones that brought honest gambling to the illegal casinos 195 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:02.480 and then brought it to Nevada. The second gang was 196 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:08.960 one man Frank Costello. He is famous because he had 197 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:12.559 the most famous nightclub in America called the Copa Cabana 198 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:19.200 in Manhattan. He'd never had his name on the ownership 199 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:24.480 because he had this background as a hood and then 200 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:30.799 he ran illegal slots in bars all over Manhattan and 201 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:34.240 then moved down just outside of New Orleans. He had 202 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:38.919 all the slots in New Orleans and this incredible casino 203 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.159 outs and showroom outside of it. And he built the 204 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:50.639 Tropicana in Las Vegas, which just came down. And the 205 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:55.399 third group was a group of five men forward Jewish 206 00:15:55.480 --> 00:16:01.919 and one was I. And the only reason why I 207 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:06.120 mentioned that is most of the crime criminal groups you 208 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.840 hear about start as street gangs and they generally are 209 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:13.639 all of the same group. And all of these groups 210 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:17.799 were mixed and they dealt with everybody and that's why 211 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:22.960 they spread so powerfully. And he was in Detroit and Cleveland, 212 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:30.039 and he brought in the legitimate boost for Capone in 213 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:37.960 Chicago and sold it to him, and he became the 214 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:42.960 most powerful criminal that ever lived in Las Vegas. In 215 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.399 nineteen fifty he opened the Desert in which was the 216 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:54.559 first high rolling casino in Nevada. It was a luxury resort. 217 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:58.759 And then eight years later he opened the Stardust, which 218 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:03.879 was at the time the war world's biggest hotel and 219 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.960 the biggest casino, and that catered to everyone. And in 220 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:11.440 my whole life, I'm not talking about what has existed. 221 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:15.759 I'm talking what I've been exposed to. I never heard 222 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:22.599 of anyone who had the best of the high end 223 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:29.000 and the best of the low end simultaneously. And he 224 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:35.519 was the most powerful criminal out there, although he did 225 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:40.920 a great deal of good for the town. All the 226 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:47.400 there was twenty four mafia gangs in America, and the 227 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:52.559 Godfathers had control over their gang and anyone they could 228 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:57.279 be with. Daylitz had an ability. I knew him well 229 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.880 and couldn't be more impressed with them. As a man, 230 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:06.000 he had an ability to win people over, and he 231 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:10.319 had more professional hit men ready to kill for him 232 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:14.839 even after he got in Vegas than any godfather ever did. 233 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:18.880 And it was all one on one out of loyalty, 234 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:25.039 and it was just amazing to been pardon seeing all 235 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:25.319 of that. 236 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.599 I've got a break to take for news, and when 237 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:33.960 we come back, I want to talk about the history 238 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:40.880 of the Flamingo through Bugsy, Siegell and beyond. And I'm 239 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.160 not saying it because I have my comp through the Flamingo, 240 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:50.599 which I do, but it's such an interesting story and 241 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.440 it got its name from the nickname of Virginia Hill, 242 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.000 Seagull's girlfriend at the time. There's so many interesting facts 243 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.720 about that property. So when we come back, can we 244 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:02.480 delve into that. 245 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:04.079 You got it? 246 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.160 Thank you, Bill. Bill Friedman is my guest. If you 247 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:10.839 want to call in, trust me. No one knows more 248 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:15.200 about Vegas than this gentleman. Phone number six one, seven, two, five, 249 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:19.000 fourteen thirty or eight eight, eight, nine to nine, ten 250 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:21.960 thirty Here on night Side with the time is ten 251 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:24.720 thirty forty four degrees. 252 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.599 Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio. 253 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:35.799 Dan is off tonight. My name is Morgan White Junior. 254 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.640 But I have strong guests for you to be entertained. 255 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.079 They will entertain you, inform you, and do the best 256 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:47.559 they can to keep your attention. Riveted to WBC Nightside. 257 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.160 Bill Friedman is my guest, and we're about to We've 258 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:56.759 talked about the history of Las Vegas as the gambling 259 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:00.599 community which it has become, and we're gonna talk about 260 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:06.359 the history of the first major hotel casino. And Bill 261 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:13.000 take us from the architects drawings to the construction to 262 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:17.000 the completion of that hotel casino, The Flamingo. 263 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:25.279 Yeah, the Flamingo was actually started by a man in 264 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:33.599 La that had a daily newspaper about what was going 265 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:39.440 on in Hollywood, and he also had many fine restaurants 266 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:45.400 and all the Hollywood celebrities went there to make him 267 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:52.400 feel good about them. And he decided he was a 268 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:57.599 addicted gambler and he would come up to the two 269 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:02.039 casinos in Vegas. But there was some really great places 270 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:07.720 in and around La illegal places, and one in Palm 271 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:13.119 Springs that he had and he decided, rather than playing 272 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:21.839 other people's casinos, he'd build it. And he started building 273 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:26.440 it and lost his money gambling. He'd come up to 274 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:29.039 look at it and loses money at the two other 275 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:35.559 properties and it went into auction and that's when Sieagel 276 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:42.240 bought it. So there's always this big debate who really 277 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:46.640 had it? Do you have enough facts? And I went 278 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:53.160 down to the county and to the men who drew it, 279 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:58.720 and all the documents do not have Seagull's name, for 280 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:06.319 the Flamingo have this man's name. So Siegel he got 281 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:12.400 involved in Nevada gambling because in nineteen forty one they 282 00:22:12.599 --> 00:22:19.720 legalized sports books and it was the only state and 283 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:25.240 union that had legal sports gambling for decades, and that 284 00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:30.960 fascinated him. And they called them sports books, but the 285 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:36.680 fact was until the mid to late fifties they did 286 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:42.680 nothing but book horse racing. When you hear that the 287 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:47.119 horse racing was kings, that is where the wealth went 288 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:51.000 when you went to racetracks in America. This was a 289 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:58.400 hangout for the wealthy. Enormous sums were bet. The biggest 290 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:02.160 gambler of the time, and boy, I'm not going to 291 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:05.119 remember his name now because I haven't thought about it 292 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:10.200 for years, but the biggest gambler you would know it 293 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:16.319 if you can think back of his time. I knew 294 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:23.880 two different men who were horse race of bookers, and 295 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:29.000 one traveled with this man for five years and another man. 296 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:33.359 They didn't have a big club they had back in 297 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:39.039 the nineteen thirties. They played every night of the wealthiest 298 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:43.240 player of poker players in the country showed up in 299 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:47.599 one game. And it was nothing for people back in 300 00:23:47.640 --> 00:23:50.519 the nineteen thirties to win or lose three hundred to 301 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:54.960 six hundred thousand dollars a night, all in cash, and 302 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:58.559 they just stand there and book the horses from these people. 303 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:05.920 But that's how big the horse betting was. And so 304 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:15.039 when Nevada legalized legalized it, Siegel had a huge horse 305 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:20.960 betting operation, illegal of course, and with one of the 306 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:26.519 best bookies there was. And he decided, why not come 307 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:30.480 to Nevada where it's legal, and we can do it 308 00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:36.079 there too. He bought two small casinos downtown and he 309 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:40.359 had them, and when this property came up for auction, 310 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.440 he said, I'm going out on the strip. There was 311 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:47.559 two places built at the beginning of the war and 312 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:53.119 World War two, and he built his right after World 313 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:56.559 War two, when there was a big boom in the economy. 314 00:24:57.799 --> 00:25:02.160 Our soldiers had gone into the Pacific and there was 315 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:04.799 nowhere for them to spend their money on the boats. 316 00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:07.880 So they all came home with everything they had earned. 317 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:11.960 And the men who fought, and I used men because 318 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:16.119 we did not have women fighters. Then when the men 319 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:22.599 came back from the European theater, most of them didn't 320 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.039 have much exposure to spend their money. They were out 321 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:29.599 in the battlefields. So there was just a huge amount 322 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:34.839 of cash. The greatest economic boom in history occurred, and 323 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:42.279 so Siegel decided to build the Flamingo. But it and 324 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:49.440 the reason was he was the biggest celebrity in Hollywood. 325 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.519 After Prohibition ended, he moved to Hollywood, and here you 326 00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:00.160 had all of these Hollywood actors that were great celebrities, 327 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:04.880 and so where normally someone would love to have a 328 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:09.680 Hollywood celebrity for dinner, what did all the producers and 329 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:15.480 the directors and the stars do. He for fifteen years 330 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:22.119 was the most popular guest on demand for all these 331 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:25.759 big Hollywood dinners that they'd have at their homes or 332 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:32.000 at the clubs. And he was the one everyone wanted. 333 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:36.720 He was a real charming, very nice guy, and everybody 334 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:40.319 wanted him there. And he thought, you know, I can 335 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:45.319 get all those people to come to Nevada and make 336 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:50.839 all this money. Where he miscalculated was the roads were 337 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:54.880 not paved at the time, so it was a dirt road. 338 00:26:55.200 --> 00:27:00.160 The highway was a two lane road, dirt the whole way. 339 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:05.920 There was limited plane service. And gamblers are very impulsive people. 340 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:09.240 They don't want to plan a trip. They want to 341 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:12.440 go to the place down the strip, down the street. 342 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:16.119 And there was these great casinos that I write about 343 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:21.039 in La and so he couldn't draw them. He never 344 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:27.440 got high end play because of it. He did make 345 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:33.640 a living at it, and the image of him he 346 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:37.720 was a first class businessman. Remember it was a small casino. 347 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:43.359 I knew very very well, his general manager, his accountant, 348 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:49.799 three of his key executives and hosts in the casino, 349 00:27:50.559 --> 00:27:54.440 and everybody there just thought the world of him. Thought 350 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:57.599 he was just the opposite of everything you see, and 351 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:02.160 hear thought the world them. When he was killed, his 352 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:08.400 attorney was named Lou Wiener, and Lou was very important 353 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:13.880 to my research. Spent incredible hours interviewing him with all 354 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:19.680 the people he was involved with, and being Siegel's attorney. 355 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:26.440 When Siegel was killed in Hollywood, the sheriff came up 356 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:32.759 to see Lou Wiener first, he said, I want to 357 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:37.559 find out who killed him, and Lou Wiener said, look, 358 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:41.119 I don't know anyone in this town that didn't love 359 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:44.359 the guy. He said, I guarantee you no one here 360 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:49.839 did it. And three days later the sheriff came back. 361 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:52.599 He said, I'm on my way out of town. I've 362 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:56.400 talked to every key business person, every key politician, all 363 00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.720 the casino people, and the one thing I've learned is 364 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:04.559 everybody in this town loved him. I know that whoever 365 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:06.359 killed him didn't come from here. 366 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:10.599 I'm gonna throw a name at you. You were trying 367 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:14.039 to think of a name of a major player back 368 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:16.359 in the thirties. Was it Damon Runyon? 369 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:21.640 No? No, this was there was a pure player, and 370 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.000 I just can't think of it because I haven't thought 371 00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:28.359 about it for decades. He was the greatest gambler of 372 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:32.480 that era and never held a job, and no one 373 00:29:32.519 --> 00:29:35.880 ever figured out where his money came from. I tried 374 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:40.960 for years, and everybody that had any closeness to him 375 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:44.440 I interviewed, and when everyone told me they had tried 376 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:49.920 to figure it out and couldn't, I gave up. Okay, Noah, 377 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:51.359 do you know it real well? 378 00:29:54.920 --> 00:29:58.319 It doesn't matter to the story but let me a 379 00:29:58.359 --> 00:30:02.799 separate name. Did you ever run into a Sunny Risner? 380 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:11.839 Oh? Yeah, a sunny I had. When they legalized sportsbooks 381 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:17.640 in nineteen forty one, they got they were nothing but races, 382 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:22.759 both legal and in Nevada and the illegal people until 383 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:28.119 the mid to late fifties. Television got rolling around nineteen 384 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:34.200 fifty and they started playing the Super Bowl and the 385 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.880 World Series and things like that, and all of a 386 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:45.519 sudden there was an interest embedding on those and so 387 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:49.880 they became popular. And I'm the only person that ever 388 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:53.039 ran two casinos on the strip at the same time. 389 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:57.599 There's companies that own multiple casinos, but I'm the only 390 00:30:57.720 --> 00:31:00.880 person that ran to of them. They were all independently 391 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:09.880 operated and they stayed allowed for the first time after 392 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:15.680 I took over my first casino sportsbook betting as well 393 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:21.440 inside the casinos, and I was the first one on 394 00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:25.480 the strip to open a sports book. And Sonny Reisner 395 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:31.480 was an unknown guy that had impressed me, and he 396 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:36.119 became my sportsbook manager, and he was the greatest odds 397 00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:41.039 maker of his time. And we had even though Caesar's 398 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:45.960 Palace and all these places had very elegant sports books. 399 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:52.200 He was so famous that we were the most successful 400 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:57.480 book in town for all those years. And he set 401 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:01.920