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Binion's Horseshoe
was the culmination of five years in Las Vegas for Benny Binion.
Born in Pilot Grove, Texas, in 1904, Binion developed an early interest
in gambling. As a young man, he moved in horse-trading circles and,
as most of the horse traders were inveterate gamblers, also became
a gambler.
In 1928, Binoin
began running a "numbers" or "policy" operation
in Dallas. During Prohibition, Binion by his own admission "did
some bootlegging" but never ran a profit. According to John
L Smith of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Binion was a suspect in
seven Texas murders and a "living legend who crafted his image
with muscle, blood, and a keen eye for the action' (LVRJ 12-28-89).
Binion was, above all, a gambler. Beginning in 1936, he got involved
in the "dice business" (illegal craps games). In 1946,
Binion came out on the losing end of electoral politics, and, lacking
political protection, was forced to close his operations in Dallas.
While some
of his confederates went to Reno, Binion followed J. Kell Houssels
to Las Vegas, where he acquired a part ownership of the Las Vegas
Club. Binion then built the Westerner, but in 1951 decided to buy
the Eldorado Club.
Binion renamed
the gambling hall the Horseshoe and immediately installed carpeting--a
novel idea for downtown clubs at the time. The Horseshoe was, from
the beginning, a family affair; his two sons, Ted and Jack, supervised
the games and his wife Teddy Jane kept the books.
Above the Horseshoe
was the Apache Hotel, a small hostelry that eventually became part
of the Horseshoe.
The Horseshoe
gained a reputation for high limits, the trademark of Binion's approach
to gambling. Because of trouble with Texas and, later, federal authorities,
Binion always had difficulty with licensing. Still, he was the acknowledged
boss of Binion's and ran his casino with a mixutre of Western hospitality,
gambler's resignation to chance, and hard-edged Texas grit. Federal
Tax problems led to a prison stint, and in 1953 he "sold"
his casino to fellow gambler Joe W. Brown, though Brown's ownership
was understood to be of a strictly caretaker nature.
When he was
released from prison in 1957, Binion re-acquired the casino from
his friend Brown, though he did not recapture 100% ownership until
1964. In the meantime, he renovated the building, adding its now-classic
neon facade.
In 1970, Binion
hosted the first World Series of Poker, then a small tournament
of truly elite players. The World Series was both a poker tournament
and a premier advertisement for the casino. Other marketing efforts
included the famous $1 million dollar display and a working stagecoach
that traveled the rodeo circuit.
Part of the
Horseshoe's charm was its intimate size but, all things considered,
large casinos are more profitable than small ones, so the Horseshoe,
like most other Fremont Street casinos, sought to expand in the
1980s. In 1988, the Horseshoe acquired its next-door neighbor the
Mint. The Horseshoe's neon facade soon enveloped the Mint, and the
Mint's highrise tower gave the Horseshoe a bevy of hotel rooms and
a new vertical prominence.
Though Benny
Binion passed away on Christmas Day, 1989, the Horseshoe remained
a family business. Son Jack Binion had already run the casino for years, and he continued to make the Horseshoe a downtown Las Vegas flagship. In 1998, following a legal battle, Jack surrendered the presidency of the Las Vegas Horseshoe to his sister Becky Binion Behnen.
Jack Binion remained an important figure in gaming. His Horseshoe casinos in Shreveport, Louisiana, Hammond, Indiana, and Tunica, Mississippi became incredibly successful. In 2004 he sold his casino company to Harrah's Entertainment.
Under the leadership of Becky Behnen, Binion's Horseshoe continued to host the World Series of Poker through 2003. The casino closed in January 2004, but was bought in March of that year by Harrah's Entertainment. Harrah's subsequently sold the casino to MTR Gaming, who renamed it "Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel," while retaining the rights to the Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker.
Want
to learn more? Check out these links:
Las
Vegas Review Journal's First 100: Benny Binion
Peter
Ruchman: Benny Binion's Legacy
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