Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, The Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker

Swanson, investigative projects editor at The Dallas Morning News, shares the old-school crime history of Lester "Benny" Binion, a Texas backwater survivor who rose ruthlessly through the world of vice to serve as a founding father of the modern Las Vegas and create the highly profitable World Series of Poker. Nicknamed "The Cowboy" as a young man, Binion hustled his way through the bootlegging business to the illegal numbers or "policy" in Dallas, gathering influential friends on both sides of the law, marrying a pretty girl, and killing two men after the Chicago mob targeted him. He thrived on the Vegas Strip, acquiring a casino, rubbing shoulders with legendary gangsters such as Bugsy Siegel, and perfecting the sport of high-stakes poker despite legal challenges and government probes. Swanson skillfully brings Binion to life and continually intrigues with the exhilarating account of the history of poker and the decadent metropolis that reminds us that ambition, power, and violence often go hand-in-hand. This is the madcap, bloody, improbable life of an outlaw who left his mark on Las Vegas, poker, and gambling from coast to coast. (Aug.)