Las Vegas Babylon The True Tales of Glitter, Glamour, and Greed

by Burbank, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9781590771365
• ISBN10: 1590771362
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-03-07
• Publisher: M. Evans & Company

Summary

What happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas, and the proof is in this lively and entertaining compilation of stories chronicling decades of decadence, celebrity shenanigans, and political corruption, as well as the glitz and glamour of the casinos that pass for everyday life in Las Vegas. Sharing wild tales about everyone from the mobsters to the Hollywood stars and the casino workers, Burbank captures the true stories from Las Vegas's seedy underbelly that have led to America's one-hundred-year fascination with the aptly named Sin City. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Jett Buibank is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Newsweek. He is the author of License to Steal, a book on casino gaming controversies; and is a commentator for KNPR-FM in Las Vegas

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
Hype and Cold Reality	p. 1
The Vegas Mob
A Hundred-Year Play in Three Acts	p. 25
Highway 91 Blues: Bugsy Siegel	p. 59
Mr. Las Vegas: Moe Dalitz	p. 79
Excess Celebrities
Rancho Sanitarium: Clara Bow	p. 93
Norma Jeane's Perjury: Marilyn Monroe	p. 99
The Sahara's Freak Show: Christine Jorgensen	p. 111
Mrs. Bates's Closet: Vera Krupp	p. 115
Striking Oil: Louis Armstrong	p. 121
Get Happy Pills, Please: Judy Garland	p. 123
Sagging Career: Jayne Mansfield	p. 129
Meet Me in Las Vegas: JFK	p. 133
Holding Up the Customers: Lenny Bruce	p. 155
Landmark Pharmacy: Elvis Presley	p. 159
Jail a' Go-Go: Jim Morrison	p. 167
Smack Down: Sonny Liston	p. 169
Audition in My Hotel Room: Tommy Smothers	p. 171
One Night in Vegas: David Strickland	p. 175
Momo's Moll Flips: Phyllis McGuire	p. 177
Whipped Cream Dreams: Robin Leach	p. 185
Vegas Politics
Harry Reid's Favorite Sons and Daughters	p. 191
Democrats and Daiquiris: Shelley Berkley	p. 201
GOP Rocks the Vote	p. 209
Bad Girls, Sad Girls	p. 215
Gaming with the Future
The Bonfire of Kirk's Vanities: The MGM Fire	p. 239
Binion Family Values	p. 243
Ginji's Aladdin Genie Loses $100 Million	p. 251
Billionaire Sandboxes: Steve Wynn versus Sheldon Adelson	p. 257
True Crimes
Three Women in a Cell	p. 265
Criminal Refuge
Vegas Confession	p. 275
Evil Spirits	p. 279
Dueling Shills
Vegas's Little-Read Newspapers	p. 291
Bibliography	p. 295
Index	p. 299
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