User talk:EntChickie/Binion's
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| Number of rooms | 366 | |
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| Theme | Vintage Las Vegas | |
| Gaming space | 50,000 ft² | |
| Permanent show(s) | No showroom | |
| Signature attraction(s) | World Series of Poker (1970-2004; 2005 final tables) |
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| Notable restaurant(s) | Binion's Ranch Steakhouse | |
| Owner | MTR Gaming Group | |
| Date opened | August 15, 1951 | |
| Casino type | Land-Based | |
| Major renovation(s) | ||
| Previous name(s) | Eldorado Club Apache Hotel The Mint Las Vegas Binion's Horseshoe |
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| Casino website | http://www.binions.com | |
Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel (formerly Binion's Horseshoe) is a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The casino is named for its founder, Benny Binion and has 366 rooms, two restaurants and a rooftop pool. It is owned by MTR Gaming Group. It is still frequently referred to by its former name, Binion's Horseshoe, though the rights to the "Horseshoe" name are now owned by Harrah's Entertainment.
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[edit] History
[edit] Era of Benny Binion
Benny Binion bought the Eldorado Club and Apache Hotel in 1951 opening them as Binion's Horseshoe. It was the first casino to have carpeting and comps for all its players. Binion's also instituted high table limits, notably a $500 craps limit, which was an immediate hit, much to the chagrin of other casino owners who retaliated by threatening Binion's life.
Binion ended up in prison for tax evasion in 1953 and sold the casino to his friend, New Orleans gambler Joe W. Brown, who called it "Joe W. Brown's Horseshoe" until 1957 when Binion was released from prison and bought the casino back. However, Binion did not reclaim 100% ownership until 1964 and never reclaimed a gambling license.
In 1970, Jack started hosting the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe which became the largest set of poker tournaments in the world. Because of this, Binion's is credited with popularizing poker in American casinos. Binion's began to produce televised specials of the World Series in 1973.
In 1988, the Horseshoe expanded by acquiring The Mint, a high-rise hotel adjacent to it.
Binion's entire family was involved in the Horseshoe. His wife Teddy Jane managed the casino cage and his sons Jack Binion, Ted Binion and daughter Becky Behnen would later have high positions in the casino.
[edit] Family dispute
When Binion died in 1989, son Jack began operating the casino. After Teddy Jane passed in 1994, Jack became president and received 42% control, son Lonnie "Ted" became manager and received 20% and daughters Becky Behnen and Brenda Michael would receive 18.5% each.
In January 1996, a bitter family feud occurred when Behnen sued Jack, claiming that he mismanaged the property leading to losses of $20 million while he pursued his own gaming operations in Louisiana and Mississippi. Jack accused his sister of not understanding the gaming business.[1] In May 1998, Ted was removed from all casino involvement due to his heroin use and allegations he had ties to Chicago mobster Herbie Blitzstein and Kansas City mobster Peter Ribaste.
A month later, Behnen was approved by gaming regulators to operate the casino, bought out the rest of her siblings and dropped her lawsuit against Jack. Both Jack and Brenda remained on the gaming license. Following his split with his sister, Jack Binion went on to form Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation which operated several riverboat casinos under the Horseshoe name.
On September 17, 1998, Ted was found dead in his home with a lethal dosage combination of heroin and Xanax in his body.
[edit] Financial difficulties
Behnen implemented cost-cutting measures, some of which were unpopular with the clientele. Among the most notable was selling the horseshoe exhibit that had held $1 million in $10,000 bills, providing a backdrop for free pictures of visitors.[2] She also made changes in the distribution of the money from the entry fees in the World Series of Poker that were unpopular with casino dealers. The dealers demanded 1.5% of the entry fees and those that had issue with Behren's decision were either fired or walked out.[3]
Under Behnen, the casino was sued in 2001 by the Fremont Street Experience LLC for past due maintenance fees and assessments. Two more lawsuits in 2003 involved unpaid rent claims by landlords that owned pieces of land beneath the property. The Horseshoe was mired in debt and was abruptly closed during an IRS raid on January 9, 2004 for owing $2.5 million in back taxes.
[edit] Harrah's and MTR
On January 12, 2004, Harrah's Entertainment announced it would purchase Binion's Horseshoe, pledging to pay off the casino's debts and paying gamblers that were owed money. This occurred shortly after Harrah's acquired the Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation in another transaction and paid off Jack's debts.
After acquiring the company, Harrah's Entertainment entered into a three-way agreement and sold Binion's Horseshoe on March 11, 2004 to MTR Gaming Group which operated the hotel. Harrah's continued to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino under a temporary contract until March of 2005. Harrah's retained the other Horseshoe Casino properties, rights to the Horseshoe name and the World Series of Poker. Binion's reopened on April 1, 2004.
When the casino was remodeled after the purchase, the original carpeting was installed. It turned out that when the carpet was first ordered, Benny Binion had ordered and stored enough carpet to re-carpet the entire casino.
On March 11, 2005, MTR Gaming Group officially took control of the operation of the casino and it was renamed it Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel.
On July 15, 2005, Binion's hosted the World Series of Poker finals for the last time. The famous poker tournament, which originated at the property, had simply outgrown the space at Binion's; additionally, Harrah's now owned the tournament and 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.
[edit] Popular culture
- Filming location for Lucky You (2006)
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Benny Binion: The Cowboy Who Pushed the Limits
- Las Vegas Mercury: Harrah's, the Horseshoe and history
- UNLV: A Retrospective History of Binion's Horseshoe
- Las Vegas Review Journal: Binion's Horseshoe reopens
| Downtown Las Vegas |
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Main Street Station • Plaza • California • Las Vegas Club • Mermaids • Golden Gate • La Bayou • Binion's • Golden Nugget • Fremont • Four Queens • Lady Luck • Fitzgeralds • Gold Spike • El Cortez • The Western |
[[Category:World Series of Poker]] [[Category:Casinos in Las Vegas]] [[Category:Binion family]] [[Category:Hotels of Las Vegas]] [[Category:Landmarks in Nevada]] [[Category:1951 establishments]]
