Benny Binion purchased the Eldorado Club and the Apache Hotel in 1951, remodeled both joints into one casino that he opened as the Horseshoe and went on to make the property the most profitable per square foot in the state. Binion was the first to offer free drinks to all gamblers, add carpet to the casino floor, provide air conditioning and an elavator to the second floor guest rooms.
After a stint in Leavenworth for tax evasion, Benny Binion lost his gaming license and transfered his holdings to his two son, Jack and Ted Binion, making Jack the president and Ted the casino manager. In 1970 Jack Binion began hosting the World Series of Poker, a $10,000 buy-in, freeze-out Hold’em tournament that determined the world’s champion poker player and made the Horseshoe synonymous with poker.
The Mint Hotel Casino was added to the property in 1988 to greatly expand the casino floor space and add more than 300 guest rooms to the tiny Horseshoe hotel. Benny died in 1989; but, the Horseshoe continued to prosper under the skilled management of Jack Binion until lawsuits filed within the family turned control of the operation over to Binion sibling Becky Behnen and husband Nick Behnen. The fall from a thriving gambling joint to a place you’d rather avoid was swift and sure until the doors closed and the Horseshoe went dark in early 2004.
The Horseshoe re-opened a few months later when Harrah’s Gaming purchased the place along with the World Series of Poker Tournament, then sold the the property to MTR gaming and moved the WSOP tournament to the Rio Resort after one final run at the downtown property in 2004. They also took the Horseshoe name so MTR Gaming re-opened the property as Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel. In November of 2009 the hotel was closed to leave only the casino open.
Happy 60th Birthday to one of the most famous gambling joints in the world.