Binion’s Horseshoe - another reminder of old Las Vegas. Benny Binion, a Texas cowboy, opened the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in 1951 in downtown Las Vegas. Southern hospitality mixed with Vegas gambling proved to be a success for Binion. His casino flourished and he built a nice gambling empire.
It is rumored that old man Binion practiced cowboy justice. They say he wasn’t beyond taking you out back and kicking the s--t out of you if you got out of line in his place. No need for the law here. Texas justice prevailed.
After old man Binion died his casino passed on to his children, among them Lonnie “Ted” Binion. Ted was the big topic of discussion when I moved to Vegas in 1999 due to his being murdered by his girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her lover Rick Tabish. During the ensuing murder trial which captivated the Las Vegas airwaves for months to come, stories would come out about drug use, strippers and silver buried at a ranch in Pahrump. (don’t worry, it’s all been dug up)
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