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Las Vegas: it isn’t just a city, it’s the world’s largest, brightest, brashest neon work of art. Andrew Graham-Dixon, Art of America 3/3: What Lies Beneath, BBC 2011
You went to Las Vegas while that poor child was meant to be in Lourdes. Father Ted s1e3: The Passion of St Tibulus, Bishop Brennan to Ted, Channel 4 1995
The dashing trigger-happy Benjamin Siegel, better known as Bugsy, was as charming as he was murderous. In the 1940s the New York mob sent Bugsy to LA where he muscled in on the rackets and hobnobbed with movie stars. Then he fell for the movie girl Virginia Hill. Mobsters s1e5: Bugsy Siegel, Bio 2007
The gamble of a lifetime: he gained control of the Las Vegas resort and casino the Flamingo. ibid.
By age 21 Bugsy was already a success in spite of a rap sheet that included charges of assault, drug dealing, white slavery, bootlegging, hijacking, robbery, bookmaking and murder. ibid.
The Mobsters pocketed the rest. The desert city had become a cash cow for the outfit. With so much money flowing from Las Vegas casinos the Mob needed muscle to protect its investment. Naturally, the bosses turned to a man who had killed and tortured on behalf of the Mob for years – Tony Spilatro. And the young mobster saw it as a chance to prove himself. Mobsters s1e26: Tony Spilotro
In the wake of the indictments the Nevada Gaming Commission raided the Stardust casino. The move put a serious hole in the Chicago Outfit’s Vegas revenue. ibid.
The Outfit’s Las Vegas casino the Stardust was full of gamblers spending money. Mobsters s2e6: Tony Accardo
While Mickey embraced life in LA, Bugsy Siegel was bored with the same old Hollywood scene. In 1945 Bugsy came up with an idea that he pitched to the Mob families – an investment opportunity. The Flamingo Hotel. A first-class destination in Las Vegas, Nevada, complete with a hundred and five rooms, private bungalows, and a casino. Siegel told them all they had to do was put up the money to build the place and watch their wallets grow. Mobsters: Mickey Cohen
By the time Mickey arrived in Las Vegas it was too late. The hotel was already $5 million over budget. Bugsy had promised the Mob a sure thing: the Flamingo was anything but ... The assassin fired into the house hitting Bugsy three times in the head, killing him instantly. Bugsy Siegel had bet everything on Vegas. And lost. ibid.
A home-loving husband, dedicated father, Tony Spilotro was in fact suspected by the FBI of over twenty murders. As Las Vegas enforcer for the Chicago Mafia, Spilatro hit whoever his bosses wanted taking care of. Mafia’s Greatest Hits s1e4: Tony the Ant Spilotro, 2012
The Chicago Mafia controlled some of the biggest hotel-casinos in the city. ibid.
And what did the gangstas do with all these millions? They built casino hotels in the Nevada desert – Las Vegas. Mafia’s Greatest Hits s1e9: Allen Dorfman
Joey the Clown Lombardo was a serious gangsta ... Lombardo oversaw the Las Vegas casinos. ibid.
We were able to establish with hard evidence that the organised crime families did in fact have these hidden interests in casinos in Las Vegas. That they were receiving skim money. Lee Flosi, FBI special agent
He cheated Las Vegas out of millions. There was no slot machine he couldn’t beat. A brilliant inventor he tinkered his way into the biggest casino heist in history. There was nothing they could do to stop the slot-machine genius. Masterminds s2e8: The Slot Machine Genius, truTV 2004
In 1992 Las Vegas fell victim to one of the biggest gambling thefts in history. An estimated $2.5 million was plundered from slot machines up and down the strip. All by a single gang. ibid.
A TV repair man ... His name was Tommy Glenn Carmichael ... In 1992 armed with light-wands they hit every casino on the Strip. ibid.
Carmichael built a cheating empire. Through his corporation he began marketing his tools and his tips to the criminal underworld. ibid.
Tommy Carmichael was caught in the act. ibid.
He struck Vegas casinos at will. The latest technology was no match for him. A virtually impossible crime scored over fifteen million dollars. Masterminds s3e4: Stealing Las Vegas
Dennis Nikrasch was born the south side of Chicago into a family of career criminals ... Nikrasch moved to Las Vegas in the 1970s. ibid.
Nikrasch himself gets eight years in a Federal prison. ibid.
This informant told them [FBI] about a group of people in Nevada that could win a jackpot any time they wanted to. And she was part of the crew. James Taylor, special agent Nevada Gaming Control Board
At one time a cash pipeline straight to America’s Mafia. Casino: True Story, 2009
The most lucrative of them all was the Stardust. ibid.
A way of pocketing their cash without leaving any trace in the accounts – it was known as the Skim. ibid.
In 1971 the Chicago Mob sent in Tony The Ant Spilotro to act as their enforcer. ibid.
As the city’s first organised burglary crew, the gang took full advantage of lax security ... the Hole-in-the-wall Gang. ibid.
In 1979 as part of a major government initiative FBI agents were dispatched to Vegas to drive the Mafia out of the city. ibid.
The Fed’s strategy was to follow the money. ibid.
The FBI offered to drop the charges if Cullotta became a state witness against his boss. ibid.
The Mob had lost its biggest earner and someone had to pay. ibid.
The battle for Las Vegas was over and the Law had won. ibid.
Later on he had an idea: to build a city out of a desert stopover for GIs on the way to the West Coast. That kid’s name was Moe Green. And the city he invented was Las Vegas. The Godfather II 1974 starring Robert De Niro & Al Pacino & Robert Duvall & Diane Keaton & Talia Shire & Morgana King & John Cazale & Marianna Hill & Lee Strasberg et al, director Francis Ford Coppola, Hyman Roth
1983: When you love someone you’ve gotta trust them. There’s no other way. You’ve got to give them the key to everything that’s yours. Otherwise what’s the point? Casino 1995 ***** starring Robert De Niro & Sharon Stone & Joe Pesci & James Woods & Frank Vincent & Don Rickles & Pasquale Cajano & John Bloom et al, director Martin Scorsese, opening scene De Niro’s car explodes
Before I ever ran a casino or got myself blown up Ace Rothstein was a hell of a handicapper. ibid. Rothstein’s commentary
I was given one of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas to run – the Tangiers. ibid.
We fucked it all up. It should have been so sweet too. ibid. Nicky’s commentary
The Strip Las Vegas Ten Years Earlier ... Here I’m Mr Rothstein. I’m not only legitimate but running a casino, and that’s like selling people dreams for cash. ibid. Rothstein’s commentary
All this money: this is the end result of all the bright lights ... It’s all been arranged just for us to get your money. That’s the truth about Las Vegas. We’re the only winners. ibid.
The Teamsters Union – and that’s where you have to go if you wanted to borrow money to buy a casino. ibid. Nicky’s commentary
With Ace the casino never saw such money. ibid.
Money, this, doesn’t mean anything without trust. I have to be able to trust you with my life. ibid. Rothstein to wife
I soon had the best operation on the Strip. ibid. Rothstein
Nicky managed to get himself banned from every casino in Las Vegas. ibid.
To Nicky Las Vegas was like the wild west. ibid.
Nicky was the new boss of Las Vegas. ibid.
The cash kept rolling in, and the suitcases kept coming and going. ibid. Nicky’s commentary
Fucking bosses – they think it’s a free fucking lunch out here. ibid.
Nicky was not only bringing heat on himself but on me too. ibid. Rothstein commentary
Flamboyant Tangiers casino executive Sam Ace Rothstein accused the state’s top gaming officials of corruption and hypocrisy. ibid. news report