Casino Hard to believe

It's hard to believe that for awhile, shortly after it opened, Circus Circus was the most profitable casino in Las Vegas.

OK, here's a test: who owned / opened it?

 

it was mobbed controlled when it opened, jay sarno was the front man

 

I've heard the mob came later, when the hotel went well over budget. sarno had a partner whose name I forget.

 

thats correct, can't remember his name either. CC is where spilotro set up his gift shop.

 

I would think Circus Circus has long ago been paid off, so with no debt service coming out of its revenue, it may still be very profitable.
I imagine MGM lumps all its debt together so that's not so big a factor for them.

 

Circus-Circus was originally considered quite the destination. It figures prominently in Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing.

HST said CC was what the whole world would have been like had the Nazis won the war.

 

It was built with mob money by Sarno and Mallin, who basically got too much heat and sold it six years after it opened to a couple of newcomers most folks know little about: William Bennett and William Pennington.

These guys quietly went on to help clean up and reinvent Sin City, helping in the transition from Mob to Corporate.

We all have heard about Howard Hughes, but these guys?

Really?

Yes, really.

 

Ther is a wonderful book about Jay Sarno, Circus Circus, Bennett and Pennington-- Super Casino. It's one of the best books I ever read, by Peter Earley.

 

You are right MrV.
I can't memorize Circus Circus name either. I hear about it long ago.

 

I learned about Bennett and Pennington by reading "Super Casino:" great read.

Check out an early 60's book, "The Green Felt Jungle," by Ed Reed and Ovid Demaris, for a detailed treatise on the activities of the mob in Las Vegas; there's a bit of muckraking in their presentation but hey, I like muckraking.

I also really enjoyed "The Boardwalk Jungle," by Ovid Demaris, which details the mob influence behind both the siting of casinos in Atlantic City and their ownership.

To summarize: ALL of the approved AC casinos had mob ties; the one applicant who was refused, Hugh Hefner, was denied because he wouldn't play the NJ political game, and seemed an arrogant shit to boot.

Hey, everybody knows you've got to "grease the wheels" in NJ!

 

Love the avatar MrV Laughs

 

I've got The Green Felt Jungle. Very good book. I also own When The Mob Ran Vegas. I'll try to find The Boardwalk Jungle.

 

In the year 1968 18th October Jay Sarno and Mandalay started Circus Circus.