Mark’s Las Vegas Blog - Your Source for Vegas Info

For some reason I’ve yet to understand the famous statue of casino mogul and Las Vegas pioneer Benny Binion has been moved from it’s 20 year home at the corner of Casino Center Blvd and Ogden Ave. in downtown to a spot inside the South Point casino outside the equestrian center.

The only connection I can see is that that South Point owner Michael Gaughan is the son of Jackie Gaughan, long time cohort and friend of Benny and former owner of the El Cortez in downtown.  I’m not sure whose idea the move was, only that the new owner of Binion’s, Terry Claudill , who owns the Four Queens downtown also, approved the move and Jack Binion, son of Benny and former president of the Horseshoe said it would be more appropriate at the new location and “it was a classy thing to do.”

 I’m kind of sad about this actually. Anyone whose only discovered Las Vegas in the last few years only knows Binion’s as just another old casino downtown. They really don’t know all that Benny Binion has done for this town and the casino business in general. Many of the things we take for granted were started by him. He was the first to offer free drinks for gamblers, the first to offer limo rided to and from the airport for high rollers. Hell the Horseshoe was the first downtown casino to have carpet! He also had the highest gaming limits of any casino at the time. He once said he would take any bet, and lived up to his word.

But perhaps his greatest legacy is the World Series of Poker. Started in 1970 as just a game between some of poker’s top names it’s become the premier poker event on the planet. The first year only 7 people played and the winner was chosen by a vote! A far cry from the thousands that are in the tournamant these days.

The statue is just on display at the South Point now, with no plaque or signage or anything to pay tribute to the man that was such a huge part of the history of Las Vegas. Kind of sad really.

Filed under: Misc., Vegas