Benny Binion Was One Of The Friendliest Mobsters In Vegas - Unless You Pissed Him Off

Melissa Sartore
Updated September 23, 2021 35.1K views

You may never have heard of Benny Binion, but odds are you're familiar with some of his work. So, who was he? For starters, he was one of the pioneers in Las Vegas gaming and founder of the World Series of Poker.

While Binion was said to be one of the nicest men you'd ever meet, he was also a guy you didn't want to cross. From his start as a gambler and racketeer in Dallas, TX, to the establishment of his Horseshoe Hotel and Casino on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, Binion was as ruthless as he was charismatic. Binion reshaped Las Vegas gambling, attracting high rollers and average players alike.

Binion never forgot his Texas roots, often donning cowboy shirts and carrying a pistol, and he built a legacy he passed on to his five children following his life's end in 1989. His story is intriguing and troubling - though maybe a bit inspiring, too. Here's everything you never knew you needed to know about Benny Binion.

  • Binion Was Convicted Of Slaying A Bootlegging Rival In 1931 
    Photo: Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images

    Binion Was Convicted Of Slaying A Bootlegging Rival In 1931 

    As his bootlegging reputation grew, Binion became increasingly protective of his livelihood. In 1931, Binion suspected Frank Bolding, an African American bootlegger, was taking from him and confronted the man. According to Binion, the two men met to discuss the matter:

    Me and him was sitting down on two boxes... he was a bad b*stard. So he done something I didn't like and we was talking about it, and he jumped up right quick with a knife in his hand. Then he'd cut the sh*t out of me, but I was a little smarter than that. I just fell backward off of that box and shot the sumb*tch right there.

    Binion shot Bolding in the neck and the latter soon succumbed to his wounds. Binion later changed his story about the whole exchange and admitted Bolding didn't brandish his blade, something authorities later determined as well. Binion did, however, remain steadfast in his claims that he feared for his life. Binion was convicted for the slaying but only received a two-year suspended sentence. After that, Binion took on a nickname: the Cowboy.

  • He Offed One Of His Gambling Competitors And Claimed It Was Self-Defense

    In 1936, Binion again killed one of his competitors, a man named Ben Frieden. Frieden was a game operator in Dallas who encroached on Binion's territory. According to the Dallas Times Herald, Binion and one of his associates, H.E. "Buddy" Malone, shot and ended Frieden's life on September 12, 1936.

    Both men were put on trial, but witnesses disappeared and, once it was determined "Frieden was armed and fired the first shot," neither were convicted. 

    Binion maintained he only drew his arm in self-defense, using his shoulder wound as evidence of that claim. Some observers believed Binion shot himself in the shoulder after offing Frieden, but it was never proven. According to John L. Smith, "Frieden was unarmed... [and] the bullet came from Benny's own pistol." 

  • Binion's Southland Syndicate Controlled Dallas Gambling By The Late 1930s 

    Binion learned a lot about running a successful crime syndicate from Warren Diamond, a well-known gambling powerhouse in Dallas. Binion idolized Diamond and learned how to mix business, style, and illegal activity while making a lot of money in the process. Diamond went into pseudo-retirement during the early 1930s, plagued with cancer, and ended his own life in 1933. From then on, Binion was the most powerful racketeer in the region.

    In 1937, Binion based his gambling operations at the Southland Hotel in Dallas. The Southland was eight stories tall and featured a coffee shop, drugstore, and barbershop with bellhops that could procure controlled substances, ladies of the night, or access to one of Binion's dice games. Binion didn't control only the Southland, however, he also had games running at locations throughout Dallas, thanks to the city's lax adherence to gambling laws. He controlled bookies as well, providing an array of gambling options to high rollers like Howard Hughes and Texas oil magnate H.L. Hunt. With his reputation and gambling monopoly at an all-time high, Binion decided to expand into nearby Fort Worth, TX.

    By the end of WWII, however, the Chicago Outfit was in Dallas and law enforcement began to crack down on illegal activity. Binion decided to leave Texas - though he didn't give up his interests there - and headed to Las Vegas in 1946.

  • After Leaving Texas, Binion Set Up The Horseshoe Casino In Las Vegas
    Photo: UNLV Special Collections / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

    After Leaving Texas, Binion Set Up The Horseshoe Casino In Las Vegas

    When Binion arrived in Las Vegas in 1946, he invested in a couple of casinos before purchasing the Eldorado Club in 1951. The Eldorado was experiencing tax troubles and Binion was able to seize the opportunity to reframe the casino in his own image. He put in $18,000 worth of carpet, according to his own accounts, the first carpets ever to be featured in a Las Vegas casino. Despite this feature, the Horseshoe was decidedly no-frills, with neither performers nor other fancy features - just free drinks for customers and liberal slot machines. 

    Binion's wife helped design the Horseshoe. Binion said she "did a very good job, and it's had a lot of comment on it. I don't know nothin' about designin' nothin' like that. Hell, all I want's four walls and crap tables, and a roof to keep the rain off, and the air condition to keep people comfortable." 

    In addition to the design, the Horseshoe distinguished itself as a no-limit establishment, one that "didn’t believe in calling the police. They took care of trouble their own way." Binion's establishment attracted gamblers of all kinds, and his rivals had to raise their own limits to stay competitive. Within a year, however, Binion was charged with tax evasion and, after failing to bribe the judge, received a 42-month prison sentence.

  • He Tried To Knock Off Gambler Herbert Noble 11 Times Before Succeeding
    Photo: Bettmann/Bettmann / Getty Images

    He Tried To Knock Off Gambler Herbert Noble 11 Times Before Succeeding

    Benny Binion had a longstanding feud with Dallas gambler Herbert "the Cat" Noble. Noble had a gambling operation in downtown Dallas and was, by many accounts, the polar opposite of Binion. Noble started as a bodyguard for Sam Murray, another Dallas gambler who got offed by another of Binion's associates, Ivy Miller. Murray paid Binion 25% of his profits, something Noble was supposed to continue after he took over for his former boss. Instead, Noble recruited Raymond Laudermilk, one of Binion's former lieutenants, to his operation and the two set their sights on expansion. 

    Noble and Laudermilk ran the Airmen's Club until the latter was slain, after which time Noble ran it all by himself. By 1946, Noble's extablishment was so successful, Binion raised Noble's payment to 40%, a number Noble refused to pay. As a result, three men were sent to off Noble - Lois Green, Bob Minyard, and Johnny Grissaffi - in a high-speed chase that landed Noble in the hospital. 

    This was one of 11 attempts on Noble's life that he blamed on Binion. In 1948, Noble's car was targeted again and, in early 1949, he found dynamite strapped to his car. That same year, Noble's wife, Mildred, perished when an incendiary device went off that was meant for her husband. Until 1951, when Noble was slain by a detonation device left near his mailbox, Noble and Binion's violent exchanges continued.

  • Binion Claimed He Never Really Went to School

    Born in 1904 to Alma Willie and Lonnie Lee Binion in Pilot Grove, TX, Lester Ben "Benny" Binion was a sickly child. He suffered from pneumonia repeatedly, something that caused his horse-trading father to comment that since he was "going to die anyhow... I'm just going to take him with me." As a result, Benny spent his youth with his father, learning about grifting and hustling.

    By the time he was 10 years old, he had only a second-grade education. Binion didn't mind, however, later commenting, "There's more than one kind of education... and maybe I prefer the one I got."

    Binion was never shy about his lack of formal schooling, claiming his life was complete with "no books, no nuthin'... what I know, I know; and it's goin' to the graveyard with me."

  • Binion Got His Start As A Mule Dealer

    As a young man during WWI, Binion lived an itinerant life, developing business acumen as a mule dealer. Binion claimed he was "real good at it, and all them old guys that I worked for, they'd let me do the mouthin' of the mules, and horses, and everything, you see, while they was tradin' and talkin'."

    He also honed his poker skills while on the road, learning the ins and outs of the game. According to Binion:

    Everybody had his little way of doing somethin' to the cards, and all this, that, and the other, so I wasn't too long on wisin' up to that. Some of 'em had different ways of markin' lem, crimpin' 'em... So then I kinda got in with more of a gamblin' type of guy, you know, the - you might say road gamblers.

    The business and gambling lessons Binion picked up on the road set the foundation for what would be a long career in both. Binion himself was "never able to play anything, dice or cards, or anything... never a real good poker player," but he learned how to hustle and find a mark. He also recognized that the house, when managed well, always wins.

  • Binion Took Up Bootlegging During Prohibition

    In his late teens, Binion went to El Paso, TX, where liquor smuggling during Prohibition was rife. Binion had started working as a gravel spreader but soon joined in the bootlegging that plagued the border between the United States and Mexico.

    Binion moved whiskey and, according to family lore, once took an entire stash of booze from a local jail. After an arrest, Binion was made "a trusty," tasked with getting "liquor out of the evidence vault" for judges and the like. Jack Binion, Benny's son, recounted what happened next:

    [He] went and made an imprint of the key. Sent it out and had a key made. Then he got the jailer drunk, and when the jailer went to sleep, he called up a friend with a truck, got some of the other trusties to help load it, and stole a truckload of liquor right out of the jail.

  • Thousands Of People Attended Binion's Funeral
    Photo: UNLV Special Collections / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

    Thousands Of People Attended Binion's Funeral

    Benny Binion succumbed to heart failure on December 25, 1989.  He was known as being generous and for having a big heart, so it was no surprise his passing brought thousands of people to the Christ the King Catholic Church to pay their respects. Politicians and fellow Las Vegas royalty mourned alongside individuals dressed in rodeo gear.

    When describing Binion, Steve Wynn, owner of several Las Vegas casinos, called him "a man who never showed one shed of pretense... We will never see the likes of Benny Binion in our lifetime again. He was either the toughest gentleman I ever knew or the gentlist tough man I ever met."

    Wynn fondly recalled Binion's reaction when he told the elder casino owner about his plans for a lavish Las Vegas hotel. Binion reportedly put his arm around his shoulders and said to Wynn, "Great, they can sleep in your place and gamble in mine." 

    Binion's funeral procession to the cemetery where he was buried was headed by six black horses leading the Horseshoe stagecoach through the streets of Las Vegas.

  • Binion Came Up With The Idea For The World Series Of Poker On The Heels Of The Texas Gamblers Reunion
    Photo: UNLV Special Collections / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

    Binion Came Up With The Idea For The World Series Of Poker On The Heels Of The Texas Gamblers Reunion

    Founded in 1970, the World Series of Poker grew out of the Texas Gamblers Reunion, an event started in Reno by Bill and LaFayne Moore. Advised by gambling insider Vic Vickrey to stage an event for gamblers to boost revenue, the Moores invited several renowned players to their Holiday Casino for blackjack and craps. The following year, even more gamblers joined in to play poker. 

    By the third year, the Moores were no longer interested in hosting the event and graciously allowed the Binion family to carry on the tradition. They renamed it, calling it the World Series of Poker, and promoted it to noteworthy and amateur gamblers alike. At first, the Binions didn't make a lot of money from the event, but the combined star power of gaming legends like Johnny Moss and Nick "the Greek" Dandolos boosted the overall appeal of their casino.

    By 1973, the World Series of Poker was televised on CBS Sports and continued to grow in popularity. In 1991, the WSOP awarded its first prize worth $1 million. By the late 1990s, 300 players would enter the championship. In 2004, the Horseshoe was acquired by Harrah's Entertainment, and the property is now owned by the same group that owns the nearby Four Queens.

  • Binion Was Influential In Moving The National Finals Rodeo To Las Vegas
    Photo: Lance Cpl. Samuel Ranney / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

    Binion Was Influential In Moving The National Finals Rodeo To Las Vegas

    When the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo moved to Las Vegas in 1985, it was largely thanks to Benny Binion. His granddaughter Mindy, who's the wife of rider Clint Johnson, claimed her grandfather "wanted to get more purse money for the cowboys," a goal he shared with fellow casino owner and current rodeo advocate Michael Gaughan.

    Gaughan credits Binion with "taking" the rodeo from Oklahoma City, claiming it "might have been the greatest thing he did. I can’t tell you how much this rodeo has meant to this town. It keeps it alive. It keeps people working."

    Binion had a long history of working with horses and raised rodeo animals on his Montana ranch. He was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame despite never having participated in the sport himself. Each year at the National Finals Rodeo, a red stagecoach is led through the arena in his honor.

  • The Binion Family Owned The Horsehoe Until 2004
    Photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

    The Binion Family Owned The Horsehoe Until 2004

    After his tax evasion conviction during the 1950s, Binion had to sell off part of his stake in the Horseshoe to pay legal costs and fines. Joe W. Brown, a friend and wealthy oil man, assumed control of the Horseshoe until Binion was released from prison in 1957, though Binion didn't have 100% ownership until 1964. Binion could no longer hold a gaming license in Nevada, so his son, Jack, took over as casino president.

    During the 1970s and '80s, Binion's sons were the face of the Horseshoe alongside their mother, Teddy Jane. Teddy Jane worked in the cashier's cage and, after her passing in 1994, the remaining Binion children entered into litigation to decide who would control the casino. Jack and his sisters, Brenda and Becky, settled out of court in 1998 when Becky emerged victorious.

    After years of falling into debt, the Horseshoe was seized by federal agents in 2004 and sold to Harrah's Entertainment. Harrah's sold the Las Vegas property but still has the rights to the Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker tournament.

  • Binion's Son, Ted, May Have Perished At The Hands Of His Girlfriend And Her Lover

    Benny Binion had five children - Ted, Jack, Barbara, Brenda, and Becky. Jack and Ted were both heavily involved in their father's business, but Ted's story took a tragic turn during the mid-1990s. Ted "took pride in being a chip off the old block," according to his friends, but was a much better card player than his father. He was banned from the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1987, allowed back in 1993, and banned again the following year shortly before his passing. 

    In September 1998, a lifeless Ted was found in his Las Vegas home. His girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her lover, Rick Tabish, were charged with his slaying, allegedly attempting to take the silver bullion he held in his vault. Murphy and Tabish were convicted of his slaying in 2000 despite arguing that Ted had succumbed to an overdose of illicit substances. They appealed the conviction and were tried again. At the second trial, they were convicted of burglary but acquitted of the slaying.

    To date, the bullion remains missing.