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Las Vegas & Gambling

Do you Gamble? Well sure you do and it's no surprise as most people now have a Casino a short distance from their home.
Have you been to Vegas? No? Well get yourself a ticket and join the other 3 MILLION+ people per month that flop into town for Good Times, Good Rolls, and Fast Action!

A few statistics about those 39 million people going to Vegas annually:
20% are 1st time visitors & only 1% of the 1st timers came for gambling.
50% are returning for vacation or pleasure,
20% are returning for a convention, and
10% are returning to gamble.
The average 2007 gambling budget was $650 per person. 54% arrived by ground & 46% landed on one of the 850 daily flights.
52% are from California and 13% are foreigners. Almost everyone hangs around for 4 days.
75% attended some kind of show with only 8% at a "Big Name" show.
80% were married earning $40,000 annually or more. Avg age was 48.
96% of all people were very satisfied with their trip to Vegas according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. I wonder if the Convention Authority interviewed anyone coming out of the numerous Pawn Shops in the Vegas area?

While the major action is on the Las Vegas Boulevard Strip, don't overlook Fremont Street in downtown Vegas as it has the old school charm, lower betting limits, and the seediness of the early days has been cleaned up.

I first went to Vegas in the 1960's and I stayed at the Stardust, so I always went back to the "Dust" for old times sake until the joint finally closed on November 1, 2006 and the buildings were imploded on March 14, 2007. When the Stardust opened on July 2, 1958, it was the world's largest Hotel-Casino with 1,032 rooms. I stayed in the motel rooms out back as they were cheaper than the Tower rooms. The hotel had an eighteen story sign erected in 1968 that you couldn't miss at night. The Stardust attracted people with cheap rooms and cheaper food and drinks. Of course the fabulous showgirls of the Lido de Paris Revue brought in customers also. The Lido show was considered risque at the time. Nude shows were in Vegas, but you had to go away from The Strip to see all-nude gals.

The Palomino Strip Club opened in the 1960's in North Las Vegas with gals performing 100% nude. The Club still operates at 1848 N. Las Vegas Blvd and now offers the "Palomino Stallions" for the ladies and also a private "Lipstick Lounge" upstairs, whatever that may be!

I've stayed at most of the major hotels at one time or another, and on my last three trips, I stayed at Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and Rio. All nice joints, however Bellagio has the friendliest and most available staff. You cannot hesitate anywhere inside the property for a minute without some friendly, bright, and energetic person jumping up to help you with whatever you might need. The maid came to my room three times a day! All this service is not without a price, but if money is not the issue, Bellagio is great. Bellagio is located at 3600 Las Vegas Blvd formerly the location of the old Dunes.

I previously hadn't stayed at the Rio as it is located off The Strip and I assumed that it probably was not as nice as the majors on Las Vegas Blvd. I was pleasantly surprised! The good people at Harrah's were holding an Invitational Craps Tournament at Rio and I was invited along with 350 other dice nuts to partake in their generous hospitality. Rio is considered an all-suite hotel and I was more than satisfied with my suite. The going rate is $315 per night during mid-week. It was spacious and more than adequate for the 4 day 3 night stay. You know it's a nice place cuz the Bad Boys of Magic, Penn & Teller have a theater there.

The craps personnel were very well organized and the tournament ran smoothly each day. The only draw back to my entire stay was that I didn't win the $20,000 tourney. In fact, I busted out the first day when I tried to make a run on the don't side of the crap table while everyone else was loading up on the come side. I met a few of the crap tourney participants and many of the players did not have extensive tournament experience, but had experience playing craps against the house. Somewhere within a dice tourney, you must make a stand away from the popular bets if you're trying to win. I talked to two 30ish ladies that were in the tournament and while I jawed with one, I noticed that the other young lady was reviewing the sports book odds for the days' games! It seems she started betting sports events in her early twenties and now considers herself a seasoned semi-pro. So maybe some of the youngsters are coming around to the craps table before the slots take over the entire casino. Being I bombed out early, I hit the restaurants using up the food vouchers supplied by the Rio folks. Since I was in Vegas by myself, I invited a couple 1st timers from France to join me for dinner just to have company. Neither of these "kids" were gamblers, they just wanted to see the sights of Sin City and see first hand what the hoopla is all about.
Also, I met a few of the locals while riding the Rio shuttle back and forth to the Flamingo on the main strip. One couple, originally from Michigan, came out on vacation and were impressed with the Las Vegas area climate and open spaces. They went home, packed up and have lived happily just outside of town for the last 30 years. To avoid the traffic on The Strip, they park at the Rio and then take the free shuttle to Las Vegas Blvd. Most casinos offer large discounts on food and entertainment to Las Vegas residents with a proper ID. These friendly people told me they eat out three times a week and spend less than $10 a night!

I always stop at the Flamingo at 3555 Las Vegas Blvd, as it has ties to the old days even though the current joint was built in the 1990's. Gone is Bugsy Siegel's original Flamingo that opened on December 26, 1946. The original was named after Bugsy's girl friend Onie Virginia Hill whose nickname was Flamingo because of her long legs. Alas, the last of the original buildings were torn down on December 14, 1993.
When the joint was called the Flamingo Hilton, they erected a monument to Bugsy located outside in the garden area just past the real Flamingos, past the waterfall, and near the Mermaid. It's quite an elaborate monument that would make Bugsy proud.

I like the pink facade at night, Margaritaville, the live parrots on the sidewalk, the feel of the old days, and I like Doug in the crap pit. While they have spruced up the place a bit, it's not as uppity as the other newer class joints.

I also took time to revisit the downtown area and to stop at Lester Ben Binion's place that opened back in 1951 as the Horseshoe Club. Previously, it was named the Eldorado Club. Benny Binion was old school rough and tumble, but he took all the action you could dish out. He was originally a moonshiner, a numbers guy, shot two people to death, and served time for tax evasion, but most people loved him. In 1964 the Binions owned 100% and renamed it Binion's Horseshoe.

A million dollars inside a plexiglass horseshoe, just inches away from your outstretched hand! The World Series of Poker that is so popular these days was started at Binion's in 1970. Johnny Moss won the first tournament. The old Mint next door to the Horseshoe was sold to Binion's in 1988. The Binion stories through the years are stuff of legend and the drama carried over to Benny's son Lonnie Ted Binion after Benny's death in 1989. Ted was found dead under suspicious circumstances in September-1998 at the age of 55. After walking around the property, I went down stairs and ordered cherry pie a la mode at Binion's original coffee shop just as I did some 40 years earlier. I half expected to see Benny sitting at his table. While the name Binion is on the joint, Benny and the Binion family are gone as the last Binion portion was sold in 2004. The one million dollars in the Horseshoe was displayed from 1966 into 1999 and then the 100 1934 $10,000 federal reserve notes were sold in December-1999 to Jay Parrino, a Kansas City, MO coin and currency collector.

While Benny is gone, he's not forgotten and a magnificent bronze sits at 2nd & Ogden with Benny astride his horse. Deborah L. Copenhaver is the sculptor of this statue titled, "Tribute to a Cowboy" placed near the Horseshoe in 1985.

It's still old school downtown and the limits are lower than the Strip, however the street is cleaned up and now the action extends a couple more blocks as speculators continue to open more hotels and joints.

I talked to a policeman riding a bicycle up and down Fremont Street and he reported that the crime is not as it used to be. His major problem is breaking up fights with the late night drunks. I did observe numerous down and out homeless types frequenting the area and occasionally observed them seeking handouts from the tourists. In earlier years, I ventured downtown to go to Binion's because of it's storied past and Benny Binion's reputation. However, I always felt uneasy on the streets there. Today however it appears just as safe as the Strip. According to generalized newspaper reports, the Vegas area has its crime problems, however The Strip and now Fremont Street has beefed up patrols so as not to chase away the millions that show up annually. That's not to say that the Vegas area is without crime. As in any big city, it's not smart to venture too far off the beaten path. Speaking of crime, the Vegas police have reported an influx in the three years 2005-2006-2007 of an overseas gang. These foreigners were quoted as saying that Vegas was ripe for the picking.

There's always a new twist as old schemes, ways, and methods are updated to modern times. That brings to mind one of the most enterprising & determined Vegas Cheats of all time according to my book. That would be Dennis Andrew Nikrasch, AKA Dennis Sean McAndrew. Dennis, born September 12, 1941 in Chicago gets the self-taught achievement award for updating his basic skill of cheating casinos by manipulating slot machine payouts. Dennis had an uncanny ability to pick locks and it is believed that he worked in Chicago for the crime families.

He was convicted in Chicago for burglary in 1961 before moving to Vegas in 1970. In Vegas, Dennis rigged the mechanical slots during the 1970's and no one really knows how many millions he hauled off. It was estimated that he racked up $10 million between 1976 & 1979. Dennis, his wife Susan, and his brother Terrence were indicted in 1983. Brother Terrence got 15 years in 1984 while Dennis & Susan went on the lam. Both resurfaced in Las Vegas and surrendered to authorities in January of 1986. Dennis got 15 years in prison however he was paroled in January-1991 after serving only 5 years and he remained on parole until May-1996. Susan received a 1 year term. Well, it seems that you can't keep a great mind down as Dennis was planning & plotting his next move while doing time. Of course technology had moved past Dennis from mechanical slots to the electronic computer age, but not to worry. Dennis set up shop in his Vegas garage with a newly purchased electronic slot machine and proceeded to take it apart piece by piece and put it back together again. In addition, he educated himself about computers and the "chips" that make it work. He was now re-schooled, re-tooled, and ready for action. An accomplice from the Bruno crime family in Philadelphia by the name of Eugene A. Bulgarino, AKA Louie Turco, AKA Gigi, born June 4, 1933 in Philly, purchased a computer chip from IGT as requested by Dennis. Dennis was able to decipher the info from the practice slot machine and obtain the necessary combinations so as to load up the slot with the jackpot sequence. Sometime in 1996, Dennis, his associates, and his hired hands were ready for the real slot machines and they hit the Vegas casinos.

According to info obtained after the fact, the cheating went as follows:
The associates would scope out a machine that had minimum security camera surveillance; confederates would play the machine regular to keep real customers from tying up the machine; after a period of time, Dennis would join the group and while they shielded Dennis from camera view, Dennis would open the machine, access the chip to obtain the necessary coding, and rig the chip to come up with a jackpot; the entourage would then leave the casino and their selected accomplice WINNER would then magically hit the JACKPOT on the next spin! Authorities do not know exactly how many jackpots, cars, and prizes that the group won, as no trail existed within the slots computer!

Here's a list of five known rigged winners:
Sep-1996 $200,500 at Excalibur won by James BULGARINO
May 24, 1997 $30,000 at Rio won by Louise Melendez
July 4, 1997 $3,700,000 at Harrahs won by Linda BULGARINO
Oct 18, 1997 at Luxor '07 Jaguar auto won by Ronica Tweedi
Nov-1997 at Luxor $1,700,000 won by Debra Capozzi BULGARINO

After their arrest on June 9, 1998 authorities found computer chips and burglary tools when they searched a safe deposit box and a storage shed used by Dennis Nikrasch. Eugene Bulgarino got 3 years 10 months; wife Joan Mae Bulgarino got 4 months jail and 4 months house arrest; Ronnie Gale McElveen got 2 years and 9 months and the mastermind Dennis Nikrasch , just two years after being released from parole for the last slot scam, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. Nikrasch & Bugarino were both added to the Vegas Black Book of Banned from the Casinos on September 24, 2004. Dennis is out now; do you think you might run into him in a casino some day?

Yea, some things change and other things don't change in Vegas, but it's always been an exciting place. On September 9, 2007, the MTV people were holding their Video Awards Big Bash at The Palms and you couldn't get near the nightclub area unless you had bodyguards and an entourage of 50 or so. I stayed on the sidelines to see what I could see. You may have read about Kid Rock getting into a scuffle with Tommy Lee and the police showed up around 10 P.M. Fun in Vegas, you can't beat it! I left The Palms and stood on the corner of Hugh Hefner Blvd for a few minutes deciding on the next joint to visit and I was summoned to a vehicle at the curb. A young gal asked if I needed a lift or if I was looking to party for the night. Some things don't change in Vegas as I don't ever recall a night on the street when I haven't been approached to participate in the sex trade business. Mobile billboards are a common sight promoting "Babes-Just for You." Most street corners have posters and advertising boxes listing available girls. In addition, individuals are stationed at the busy intersections on The Strip handing out "Trading Cards" advertising for Demi, Stacy, or Stephanie who can be at your room and ready in only 20 minutes! Giovanna even offered a FREE INTRODUCTION and a $35 SPECIAL.

The current Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, weighed in recently on the prostitution business stating that Vegas ought to open up brothels. Oscar was interviewed by Bob Herbert of the New York Times and was liberally quoted in a September 4, 2007 article. Mr. Herbert stated, "There is no city in America where women are treated worse than in Las Vegas." Herbert continued, "The tone of systematic, institutionalized degradation is set by the Mayor, Oscar Goodman who describes Vegas as an adult playground where anything goes."
For the few of you that haven't heard of Vegas Mayor Oscar Baylin Goodman, born June 26, 1939 in Philly, Oscar has been in Vegas since 1964 and Mayor since 1999. Mayor Goodman has a J.D. degree from the U of Pennsylvania Law School and was admitted to the Nevada Bar Association in 1965. He had a storied career as a defense attorney and defended well known crime figures. Maybe you will recognize clients, such as Meyer Lansky, Nicky Scarfo, Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, and ex-Stardust Casino boss Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. Oscar appeared in the 1995 movie Casino playing himself. Joe Pesci appeared in the movie as the violent enforcer portraying Spilotro, while Robert DeNiro (Sam Rothstein in the movie) represented Lefty Rosenthal. Oscar is in his third term as mayor which will expire in 2011. The outspoken Mayor is usually good for a quote as when he addressed a Vegas 4th grade class in 2005, he stated that a showgirl and a bottle of gin would be his choice if marooned on an island. When asked about his hobbies, he responded that he enjoyed drinking Bombay Sapphire Gin. In 2005, Oscar suggested that any freeway graffiti punks caught should have their thumbs cut off on live television. Public whippings and canings were also suggested for offenders. The mayor also was a photographer for a topless shoot with the photos used for a porno web site. Numerous follow-ups have appeared in newspapers concerning the prostitution articles. Goodman said he felt defamed by the columnists and Goodman said he would take a baseball bat and break Bob Herbert's head if he ever comes back to Vegas. Bob Herbert responded on September 11, 2007 that he must have hit a nerve when labeling Vegas as a predator and talking about Mayor Goodman. Vegas columnist, Jon Ralston sided with Herbert that Goodman does not understand the horrible toll that legal or illegal prostitution takes on women. Former Mayor Jan Jones stated that Goodman makes the city of Las Vegas look like idiots and that Goodman demeans women. A host of everyday people have sent letters to the editor, some praising the Mayor and others scolding the Throwback from the early mob days. It's interesting to note that most people believe that prostitution is already legal in Vegas. My bet is that legal prostitution is not likely to happen soon. Instead, hundreds of illegal hookers will be plying their trade up and down the Strip area and the Vegas Police will continue to bust the Johns and the Prostitutes.

As I mentioned, Mayor Oscar Goodman was the mouthpiece for ex-Stardust Casino boss Lefty Rosenthal as Lefty was suspected of secretly overseeing the Stardust, Fremont, and Hacienda casinos on behalf of organized crime. Frank Larry Rosenthal, born June 12, 1929 in Chicago, is another colorful character from the Vegas scene. Also known as Norman, Larry, Lefty, Larry Franks, Frank Larry, Frank Carpentier, Charles Carpentier, and Frank Gossup; Mr. Rosenthal originally became noticed in Chicago because of his ability to pick winning horses. He went on to become widely known for setting the odds for sporting events. While at the Stardust, Lefty set up and operated a Sports Book along with hiring the first female dealers in the casino which made the Stardust one of the leaders in the industry. If you made a bet anywhere in the country, the line was probably set by Lefty Rosenthal. As depicted in the movie Casino, Lefty survived a 1982 car bombing attempt on his life. Alas, in 1991 the Nevada Supreme Court upheld Rosenthal's November 30, 1988 listing in the Black Book that bans him from casinos. During one of his court hearings, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment nearly 40 times, even "taking the 5th" when asked whether or not he was left-handed! After being barred and his casino days over, Lefty moved to California, and then on to Florida. Lefty, a pioneer of modern gambling and a renowned handicapper continues in 2008 to handicap sports events out of Miami Beach, Florida.

So as not to slight the women folk, I'll mention that one woman made the Black Book which subsequently bans her from casinos. Sandra Kay Vaccaro was listed in the Black Book on October 2, 1986. Sandra, AKA Sandra Day Fumagalli, AKA Sandra Day Wondra, was born December 13, 1939 in Granite City, IL and worked with her then husband John Vaccaro Jr. to cheat the slots during the early 1980's. John also made the Black Book on June 20, 1984 four months earlier than his wife.

In addition to spending time at the dice tables, I enjoy finding other things to do in Vegas. In February-2008, I traveled to the Liberace Museum at 1775 East Tropicana Avenue to pick up a newly released Liberace Style pair of shoes. The Museum is quite the place with glitter, clothes, pianos, autos, costumes, rings, jewelry, and a snack bar. Two extremely friendly ladies, Connie & Sandra took time to show me around and pick out a "new pair of shoes'. In addition to all the Liberace stuff, the museum houses a theatre and regularly holds Liberace Tribute performances.

I continued down East Tropicana stopping next at 2900 at "The Gun Store." They have everything you might need, such as an Uzi, MP5, MP40, M16, AK47, or a Thompson. You can try one out right there 7 days a week 'til 6:30 P.M. If you can't afford to buy one right now, well sho' enough they have a RENTAL program. It's Vegas baby.

Continuing East, the next stop was at 3330 Tropicana to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame. About 200 machines of the owner's 1,000 machines are available to play at this location. Approximately 30 people were playing the favorite machines of their youth when I arrived. None of these people were kids as their ages were 35 and up and about half were women. Tim Arnold the owner was not available, however Mike Clark known as "Hippie", the main repairman was busy polishing up a machine. Hippie explained that it was a full time job cleaning and replacing gates, bumpers, and supplying parts to keep the machines playable. I spent two hours feeding quarters to the pinball machines. The Hall of Fame operates as a tribute to the Pinball era, and any profit is donated to charitable causes in Las Vegas. A great afternoon spent on East Tropicana in Las Vegas.

OK folks, that's all for now and I hope to see you in Vegas sometime.
Look for me at the Dice Table.