JOHN-O's Las Vegas (& Honolulu pg 8) Thread - General Tiki

J JOHN-O Tiki Socialite Dogtown, USA Joined: May 16, 2008 Posts: 2721	J JOHN-O Posted posted on Sun, May 23, 2010 4:38 PM Here's some interesting history that I recently uncovered on Tony Cornero, the West Coast mobster responsible for "financing" the Stardust Resort and Casino in the late 1950's. In the late 1930's, Cornero ran 3 gambling ships off the coasts of Santa Monica and Long Beach. He argued that 3.1 miles off the U.S. coast constituted "international waters" and that he was exempt from California law. For 25 cents you could ride on a water taxi which would ferry you from the Santa Monica Pier to the S.S. Rex, the most palatial of his 3 ships. There guests could enjoy gambling, gourmet food, a full orchestra, and most likely other unadvertised vices. Raymond Chandler used the "Bay City" gambling ship as background in his 1940 novel "Farewell, My Lovely" and it was also portrayed in the 1975 Robert Mitchum film of the same name. This link provides a pretty comprehensive background on what would be remembered as "The Battle of Santa Monica Bay" - http://laist.com/2009/08/08/laistory_the_battle_of_santa_monica.php Now here's the part that was news to me. After the Coast Guard and local authorities eventually shut him down, Conero relocated to Las Vegas in 1945 where he leased the bottom floor of Downtown's Apache Hotel. There he opened up a casino and named it the S.S. Rex Club. That venture only lasted a year and the casino changed hands to become the more well remembered Eldorado Club. The Eldorado stayed in business for 4 years until it was acquired by Benny Binion in 1951 who opened up his iconic Horseshoe Club. (You can go to page 1 of this thread to read about the interesting background on that.) I love to shoot craps at Binion's (Harrah's stole the "Horseshoe") for its old-school flavor and so I was amazed to learn the physical space had a Noir connection to my home of Santa Monica. Cornero later purchased a 40-acre piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip with plans to build a major casino resort. After borrowing major money from the Jewish Mob, he ran short and had to ask for more. Cornero never did get to see the Stardust open (or eat at the Aku Aku) as he had a fatal heart attack shooting craps at the Desert Inn several years prior to the Stardust opening. Rumor had it he was slipped a lethal mickey in his cocktail but that was never proven.

Here's some interesting history that I recently uncovered on Tony Cornero, the West Coast mobster responsible for "financing" the Stardust Resort and Casino in the late 1950's.

In the late 1930's, Cornero ran 3 gambling ships off the coasts of Santa Monica and Long Beach. He argued that 3.1 miles off the U.S. coast constituted "international waters" and that he was exempt from California law. For 25 cents you could ride on a water taxi which would ferry you from the Santa Monica Pier to the S.S. Rex, the most palatial of his 3 ships. There guests could enjoy gambling, gourmet food, a full orchestra, and most likely other unadvertised vices. Raymond Chandler used the "Bay City" gambling ship as background in his 1940 novel "Farewell, My Lovely" and it was also portrayed in the 1975 Robert Mitchum film of the same name.

This link provides a pretty comprehensive background on what would be remembered as "The Battle of Santa Monica Bay" - http://laist.com/2009/08/08/laistory_the_battle_of_santa_monica.php

Now here's the part that was news to me. After the Coast Guard and local authorities eventually shut him down, Conero relocated to Las Vegas in 1945 where he leased the bottom floor of Downtown's Apache Hotel. There he opened up a casino and named it the S.S. Rex Club. That venture only lasted a year and the casino changed hands to become the more well remembered Eldorado Club. The Eldorado stayed in business for 4 years until it was acquired by Benny Binion in 1951 who opened up his iconic Horseshoe Club. (You can go to page 1 of this thread to read about the interesting background on that.) I love to shoot craps at Binion's (Harrah's stole the "Horseshoe") for its old-school flavor and so I was amazed to learn the physical space had a Noir connection to my home of Santa Monica.

Cornero later purchased a 40-acre piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip with plans to build a major casino resort. After borrowing major money from the Jewish Mob, he ran short and had to ask for more. Cornero never did get to see the Stardust open (or eat at the Aku Aku) as he had a fatal heart attack shooting craps at the Desert Inn several years prior to the Stardust opening. Rumor had it he was slipped a lethal mickey in his cocktail but that was never proven.

Post #531889 by JOHN-O on Sun, May 23, 2010 4:38 PM