Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,144
Part of the dispute about the match has to do with the year. Some have written 1949. Some have written 1951 and listed the match at Binion's Horseshoe. The Horseshoe opened in 1951.
I believe the big poker game happened in 1949, because of dramatic things going on in Benny Binion's and all gambler's lives in 1950 and 1951.
The Senate Kefauver Hearings into gambling and organized crime were held in 15 cities in 1950, 1951, including Dallas and Las Vegas. Benny Binion's Dallas operations became a target. When the committee came to Vegas, Benny hid out and did not testify as requested. Ray Ryan fled to Europe. These hearings caused the mob and Dave Berman to ask Benny to tone down his epic struggle with Cat Binion. In 1950, reformers in Texas were taking over, and they vowed to extradite Benny to face mounting charges. He was in trouble at the state, federal levels, and in the press most of all.
In Dallas, there were the first felony gambling indictments, facing Benny and many of his men, and the first Internal Revenue indictments. Benny left a paper and bank account trail to the policy wheels.
The Internal Revenue Charges on Benny were for failure to report income from 1946 to 1949, and came after the match in 1949, but was good reason to keep quiet about wins. A Texas Legislative Committee was also holding hearings on gambling in 1950. Paul Harvey, with Benny a one-third partner in his Odessa, Texas operations, testified and ended his friendship with Benny. In 1950, gambling operations were being closed down in Dallas, some controlled by Benny.
Fort Worth was going through a battle of two gangs of gamblers for control. One were Benny's men. One were men aligned with but not controlled by Cat Noble. Several people were killed.
In late 1949, the Cat Noble feud was getting too much press. Cat did not use Binion's name, but he would say a man 1500 miles from here, out west, keeps trying to kill him.
Attempts on the Cat's life went on from 1946 until August 7, 1951. In November of 1949, Cat Noble's wife was killed in a car bomb meant for him. R.D. Matthews, Binion's man, was arrested, and released for lack of evidence. Benny was trying to sell the Las Vegas Club. It is way amazing the number of murderers that got off. The Cat didn't use Benny's name but he said Benny killed his wife. He swore vengeance and went rather crazy. On December 31, 1949, another attempt was made on Noble's life. At the hospital a map of Benny's Las Vegas home and surrounding area were found in Noble's clothes. Benny's contacts in the police department mailed him a copy. Another attempt was made on the Cat by a sniper when he was in the hospital. It was then Dave Berman, speaking for the mob, spoke with Binion about all the publicity. When law enforcement found Cat Noble with an airplane rigged with bombs and again the map of Benny's home, they did nothing to him. He was talking to the law and letting them bug some conversations, and killing or getting killed some of Binion's men.
When the Cat was killed, it was in Time, Life, and Newsweek. The Texas Rangers believed that 42 men and 1 woman had tried to kill or tried to hire someone to kill Cat Noble.
This mostly comes from Gary Sleeper's book. The prices on the hit were $10,000 up to a high of $50,000 for a three guys or so. In Fraianno's F.B.I. sanctioned lies, he said Benny offered 25 per cent of a new downtown Las Vegas casino to the mob if they'd kill Russian Louie. With millions at stake, it took a long time and Benny going to see Mafia guys.
Three more solid reasons to believe the match took place in 1949, were Moss always said so, and Nick the Greek's biographer said he got broke that year. That was the year the Greek played his big match with Ray Ryan which is well documented.