Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. This might explain why you’ve never heard the story of Benny Binion. The cowboy/entrepreneur/killer is one of the men responsible for turning Vegas into the neon vacation destination of debauchery it is today. And just like any good Vegas tale, this one comes packed with insanity. Blood Aces by Doug J. Swanson uses once-secret government documents to explain how Binion destroyed those who opposed him and how he outwitted the likes of J. Edgar Hoover in the process. It’s the kind of biography that reads like a gripping novel.