Benny Binion bought the Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache in 1951, re-opening them as Binion's Horseshoe (also called the Horseshoe Casino).[2] The casino's interior had a frontier flavor, like an old-style riverboat, with low ceilings and velvet wallpaper. It was the first casino in downtown Las Vegas (also called Glitter Gulch) to replace sawdust-covered floors with carpeting,[3] and was the first to offer comps to all gamblers, not just those who bet big money.[4][5] Binion also instituted high table limits. When Binion first opened the Horseshoe, he set the craps table limit at $500—ten times higher than any other casino in Las Vegas at the time. Ultimately, Binion's raised the table limit to $10,000 and even eliminated table limits completely at times, which was an immediate hit.
Unlike other casinos, the emphasis at Binion's was on gambling, not on big performing acts.[6] The casino was also very egalitarian; there were no private pits for high rollers.
Other members of Binion's family were involved in the casino. His sons, Jack and Ted, supervised the games, while his wife, Teddy Jane, kept the books until her death in 1994.[7]
Benny served time in Leavenworth Penitentiary from 1953 to 1957 for tax evasion. He sold a majority share of the casino to fellow gambler and New Orleans oilman Joe W. Brown to cover back taxes and legal costs.[8] It was generally understood, however, that Brown was only a caretaker, and Benny regained controlling interest in 1957. He did not regain full control, however, until 1964.[7]
While Brown operated the casino, he installed the famous $1 million display on the casino floor. He sold the display in 1959 and it was later recreated using 100 of the $10,000 bills by Benny in 1964.[2][9] The Binion family sold the $10,000 bills for amounts between $112,500 and $188,000 each.[10]
As a convicted felon, Benny was no longer allowed to hold a gaming license, so his sons took over day-to-day control when the family bought out Brown. Jack became president while Ted became casino manager. Benny assumed the title of Director of Public Relations.[11]
In 1970, Jack began hosting the World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe.[citation needed] Eventually, the WSOP became the largest set of poker tournaments in the world. In 1988, the Horseshoe expanded by acquiring The Mint, a high-rise hotel on the west side of the casino. The expansion of the casino from this purchase provided room for Binion's first poker room.
Ted was under constant scrutiny from the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1986 onward for drug problems and associating with known mob figure "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein. He would ultimately be banned from even entering his family's casino. In 1998, he was stripped of his gaming license for his continued association with Blitzstein. He was forced to sell his 20% interest to his younger sister, Becky.[citation needed]
In 1998, Becky Behnen acquired a controlling interest in the casino following a protracted legal battle with her older brother Jack. The battle ended with Jack being bought out while retaining a 1% interest in the casino so that he could retain his Nevada gaming license. Jack moved on to focus on Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation, running other casinos under the Horseshoe brand. Behnen became president of the Horseshoe while her husband, Nick, took over as manager.[12]
Behnen implemented several cost-cutting measures, most of which were unpopular with the gamblers. Among the most notable was the removal of the Horseshoe exhibit that held $1 million, having been sold to collector Jay Parrino,[2] that had served as a backdrop for free pictures of visitors.
She also made changes in the distribution of the money from the entry fees in the World Series of Poker that were unpopular with the casino dealers and closed a popular restaurant in the casino. Benny had used one of the tables in the restaurant as his office. Despite these measures, the Horseshoe became bogged down in debt. Under her father and brothers, the Horseshoe had reportedly been the most profitable casino in Las Vegas (it was privately held, so it never had to report its earnings).[citation needed]
Behnen also attracted the attention of the state regulators by failing to keep sufficient funds available to pay winners in the casino cage. Bob Stupak also drew negative publicity to the casino when he tried to redeem $250,000 in $5,000 casino tokens, some of which were stored in the casino's own safe deposit boxes, and Behnen refused to honor them.[13]
A Binion's poker table signed by numerous professional poker players and WSOP Champions
Behnen's undoing, however, was a dispute with the unions that represented some of the Horseshoe's employees. In November 2002, the Culinary Workers Union and Bartenders Union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Behnen hadn't signed a collective bargaining agreement and had fallen behind on medical insurance and pension payments. The parties reached a settlement in March 2003 in which the Horseshoe signed the collective bargaining agreement and agreed to pay the owed money. However, the Horseshoe fell behind on its payments, leading a federal judge to issue two separate judgments ordering the Horseshoe to pay over $1.5 million. The judgments gave the union the right to seize the money if regular payments weren't being met.[14]
However, the casino stopped making payments in June.[15] After holding off numerous times, on December 5 the Culinary Union obtained a court order authorizing the seizure of up to $1.9 million from the Horseshoe casino cage.[16] The seizure took place on January 9; ultimately federal marshals and IRS agents seized $1 million in order to satisfy debts owed to the Southern Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust Fund and to the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Welfare Fund. The seizure effectively depleted the Horseshoe's bankroll, forcing it to close. A day later, the hotel was shut down as well, and Behnen reached an agreement with the Nevada Gaming Commission to keep the casino closed until its bankroll was replenished.[17] A few days later, on January 23, Behnen reached a deal to sell the Horseshoe to Harrah's Entertainment.[18]
Post-Binion family (2004–present)
Days after the purchase by Harrah's closed, while retaining the Horseshoe and World Series of Poker brands, they sold the physical property and the Binion's brand on March 11, 2004, to MTR Gaming Group.[citation needed]
Binion's reopened in April 2004, with MTR Gaming operating the hotel and Harrah's Entertainment operating the casino, while MTR Gaming completed the process of acquiring the required gaming license. Harrah's continued to operate the casino under a temporary contract until March 11, 2005, when MTR officially took control of the operation of the casino and renamed it Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel.[citation needed]
MTR remodeled both the casino and hotel after the purchase. A notable feature of the remodeling was to replace the casino's worn carpet with surplus carpeting that Benny Binion had stored since initially carpeting the casino.[citation needed]
In July 2005, Binion's hosted the WSOP main event for the last time. The tournament had outgrown the space at Binion's, and Harrah's wanted to host it at one of its properties. In 2005, all events, except the final three tables of the main event, were played at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. The casino still retains a large poker area and features displays on the Poker Hall of Fame as well as previous WSOP Champions.[19]
On March 7, 2008, MTR sold the hotel-casino to TLC Casino Enterprises, owner of the Four Queens, for $32 million.[20]
The $1 million casino floor display, once a free tourist photo attraction, returned in August 2008. With $10,000 bills no longer widely available, the new display contained 2,700 $100 bills, 34,400 $20 bills and 42,000 $1 bills. That display was closed in 2019 due to pandemic health restrictions and returned in 2023.[2][21]
On purchasing Binion's, TLC had announced a plan to expand the hotel with a new tower, but on December 14, 2009, they closed the hotel and coffee shop due to the late-2000s recession.[23] TLC continues to operate the hotel at the Four Queens casino across the street, which has almost twice as many rooms. Previously, Binion's advertised the hotel as closed for renovations.[24] However, due to the high cost of asbestos removal in the hotel,[25] renovation plans were shelved.
In February 2019, TLC announced plans to reopen 81 of the rooms as a new boutique hotel called Hotel Apache. The hotel was designed with "vintage-style furnishings reminiscent of the original Hotel Apache that opened in 1932".[26][27] The hotel opened on July 29, 2019.[28]
In media
The 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever has a chase scene showing the Horseshoe several times.
In 2005, the outside of the hotel (along with its famous former "Horseshoe" logo) is featured prominently in the music video for Snoop Dogg's 2005 single, "Signs" featuring Justin Timberlake.
A reality series, Casino Confidential which airs on DTour, gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Binion casino.
In the 2013 film Last Vegas, the protagonists attempt to check in to Binion’s in an attempt to recreate a bachelor party from decades earlier, only to learn the hotel is undergoing renovations.[29]
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players.
Harrah's Entertainment was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven golf courses under several brands. In 2013, it was the fourth-largest gambling company in the world, with annual revenues of $8.6 billion. It was acquired in 2020 by Eldorado Resorts, which then changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment.
Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970. He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in 1971 and 1974. He was one of the charter inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
Lester Ben Binion, better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a rum-runner, Frank Bolding. In the 1940s he relocated to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and opened the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.
Thomas K. McEvoy is a professional poker player, author and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, 2013 inductee. He is best known for winning the 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event.
The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some other adjacent streets.
MTR Gaming Group was a gaming company based in Chester, West Virginia that operated horse racing tracks and racinos. It was formed on March 7, 1988, in Wilmington, Delaware. On September 19, 2014, it merged with Eldorado Holdco LLC, forming Eldorado Resorts in Reno, Nevada.
Fremont Street is a street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada that is the second-most famous street in both the Las Vegas Valley and in the state of Nevada, after the Las Vegas Strip. It is named in honor of explorer and politician John C. Frémont. Located in the heart of the Downtown casino corridor, Fremont Street is today, or was, the address for many famous casinos such as Binion's Horseshoe, Eldorado Club, Fremont Hotel and Casino, Golden Nugget, Four Queens, The Mint, and the Pioneer Club and the longest-running casino in Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel and Casino.
Lonnie Theodore "Ted" Binion, was an American gambling executive and the son of Las Vegas casino magnate Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe casino. Ted Binion was involved in multiple criminal cases which included associating with organised crime figures. Binion had a multi-million dollar bullion coin and silver bar collection, known as the Binion Hoard, which he hid inside the Horseshoe casino and at two properties that he owned. When Binion died in 1998, there were suspicions of foul play. Binion's girlfriend Sandra Murphy and her lover Rick Tabish became the prime suspects. After Binion's death, both Murphy and Tabish were charged and convicted of burglary, grand larceny, and murder. The two were later granted a new trial and acquitted on the murder charges.
Jack Binion is an American businessman and was chairman of Wynn Resorts (2006-2018). He is the son of casino magnate Benny Binion. Jack worked for his father at Binion's Horseshoe, a casino and hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 (US) no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18th. All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Harrah's Entertainment, which has run the annual event since its purchase from the Binion family in 2004.
Horseshoe Casino Tunica is a casino resort located in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi, United States. It was developed by Jack Binion, the son of Las Vegas gaming legend Benny Binion, and named after his father's famous Binion's Horseshoe downtown gambling hall. Much like its namesake, the Horseshoe Tunica is known for catering to serious gamblers, particularly table games players, and is known for its liberal, player-favorable rules and its comp policies.
The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is the first expansion effort of World Series of Poker-branded poker tournaments outside the United States. Since 1970, participants have had to travel to Las Vegas if they wanted to compete in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Although the WSOP held circuit events in other locations, the main tournaments, which awarded bracelets to the winners, were exclusively held in Las Vegas. The inaugural WSOPE, held in 2007, marked the first time that a WSOP bracelet was awarded outside Las Vegas.
Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis, commonly known as Archie Karas, was a Greek-American gambler, high roller, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in casino gambling history, simply known as The Run, when he drove to Las Vegas with $50 in December 1992 and then turned a $10,000 loan into more than $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year. Karas himself claimed to have gambled with more money in casinos than anyone else in history and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high-stakes gambler of Greek origin.
Horseshoe Casino Hammond is a casino located in Hammond, Indiana. The 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m2) property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges.
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada, that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporation and changed its own name to Caesars Entertainment on July 20, 2020.
TLC Casino Enterprises, Inc. is a holding company owned and controlled by Terry L. Caudill which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casinos.
Hotel Apache is the hotel located at Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel on Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel was bought by Benny Binion in 1951 and was merged with the Eldorado Club into Binion's Horseshoe. TLC Casino Enterprises, the current owner of Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel, planned to reopen 81 of the rooms as a boutique hotel, going back to the roots of the original hotel name. It opened in the summer 2019.
↑ Doug Swanson. Blood Aces, (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), p. 214-15. ISBN9780143127581
↑ Ross, Ph.D, Kelley L. "Six Kinds of United States Paper Currency". Retrieved 26 May 2014. The largest collection of $10,000 bills, 100 (Series 1934) to make for a total value of $1,000,000, used to be on display at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
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