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In
the last few years, the Horseshoe has been thrown into turmoil by both a
good old-fashioned family feud and a sensational murder. Benny Binion's
son Ted had his gaming license first suspended due to his admitted drug
use, and then, in 1998, revoked altogether because of his connections
with the Mob. Later that same year, he was suffocated, after being
forced to take an inoluntary overdose, by his lie-in lover and her new
man, who were caught a few days later digging up $6 million in silver
bullion at his desert ranch. Believe or not, in 2004 the court reversed
the guilty verdict and they
walked
free.
Meanwhile, the Horseshoe itself was going from bad to worse, following a
hostile takeover by Ted's estranged sister and brother-in-law, who
remain at loggerheads with the rest of the family. A cash flow crisis
forced them to dismantle the casino's famous display case containing a
million dollars in banknotes, beside which visitors used to pose for
photographs; the future of its atmospheric, bargain-priced downstairs
coffee shop seems to be in doubt; and they've also been refusing to pay
their share of the costs for the Fremont Street Experience.
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For
the moment, however, the Horseshoe is still in business, and still
promoting itself as the place "where real gamblers hang their hats." In
fact, once you get past its enormous neon sign, its dim, smoky and
intensely serious interior holds nothing to appeal to non-gamblers. Such
was Benny Binion's single-minded focus on gambling that he refused to
put on lie music, saying "I'm not going to let some S.O.B. blow my
bankroll out the end of a horn." His greatest coup was to establish the
Horseshoe as the permanent home of the World Series of Poker in
the late 1970s. At that time, few casinos offered poker, which was seven
as having too much potential for fraud and other trouble. Since then,
the high profile of the four-week tournament, which takes place in late
April and May each year and offers a winner's take of $1.5 million, has encouraged others to follow suit. It continues to operate the
highest limits of any casino in town, and possibly the world; you can
bet as much as you like, so long as you bet it as your very first stake.
back
128 E Fremont St
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