Tuesday, April 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Suspended Horseshoe executive Ted Binion, acknowledging he once was a heroin addict, insists he's been drug free since 1987 despite testing positive for marijuana and cocaine in recent months.
"I have not done any drugs the last nine years," Binion said Monday in an interview with the SUN. "I've never seen anyone punished for drug use for nine years other than myself."
The 53-year-old Binion, who's been in and out of the Horseshoe since 1987 as his drug problems mounted, said he plans to continue fighting state gaming regulators for his livelihood in the casino industry.
"There's no chance of me giving up," Binion said. "I don't see myself as a loser."
Binion, who has a 20 percent share of the Horseshoe, said he telephoned the SUN Monday against the wishes of his lawyers to tell his side of the story.
He attributed his troubles with the state to the bitter battle for control of the downtown casino between his brother, Jack Binion, and sister, Becky Behnen.
"I think certain people are trying to force me out of the business," he said. "They know that if I sell out, Jack would sell out, too."
Binion said he would rather see his brother in charge of the Horseshoe than Behnen, whom he said "hasn't got a clue about how to run a casino."
Behnen, recently named co-president with Jack, responded that Ted isn't aware of the management problems she's uncovered at the Horseshoe under Jack's supervision.
For the first time since coming under fire from gaming agents earlier this year, Binion publicly discussed at length his drug problems and a host of other allegations, including his association with reputed mob figure Herbie Blitzstein.
Since his 1987 heroine conviction, Binion said, he has spent $1.6 million keeping himself free of controlled substances.
That includes a $250,000 fine he paid in 1994 as part of a stipulation with the State Gaming Control Board in which he temporarily gave up his gaming license.
The Control Board has been investigating allegations that Binion has used drugs and has been involved in Horseshoe operations since 1994 in violation of the stipulation.
Since October, hair samples Binion has given have shown traces of drugs on three occasions. He has tested positive for marijuana and cocaine.
But Binion said his research has found that hair samples are "unreliable" and don't prove drugs are in your system.
In his case, he speculated that traces of marijuana and cocaine from other users could have wound up in his hair while he has been making the adult nightclub circuit in recent months.
Binion insisted he hasn't done heroin since 1987, marijuana since 1982 and cocaine since 1979.
And since being put on probation in 1987, Binion added, he has had 119 "clean" urine tests.
Binion also confirmed that his relationship with Blitzstein, once a top lieutenant of the late Chicago mobster Anthony Spilotro, goes deeper than he previously admitted.
Binion acknowledged running into Blitzstein several times within the past year at popular strip-tease joints such as Club Paradise and Cheetah's.
He also said he has gone to dinner with Blitzstein frequently and has sought his help in fixing a rare Mercedes limousine his brother Jack inherited from the late legendary Binion patriarch, Benny Binion.
"I'm nice to the guy, and he was never anything but nice to me," Binion said.
He added he believes Blitzstein was merely a "gopher" for Spilotro, who lawmen alleged ran the Chicago mob's street rackets here until his brutal gangland death in 1986.
Binion said he first met Blitzstein in 1987 when the two men shared the same lawyer, John Momot. But Binion added he didn't become friendly with Blitzstein until a year ago.
Binion said his role in helping Blitzstein cash an $11,000 insurance check at the Horseshoe New Year's Day was minimal.
He said he received a call at home from a Horseshoe cashier who asked him if the Blitzstein check was good.
"I said 'yeah' and hung up," he insisted. "I was just answering a question."
Binion said he doesn't know why his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, who once danced at Cheetah's, is listed on Horseshoe records as having approved the transaction.
Murphy, he said, is "not the bad person she's made out to be. She's not a low-life."
The Control Board contends Murphy, who asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when subpoenaed to a recent investigative hearing, has wielded influence, including comp power, at the Horseshoe even though she's not a company officer.
Binion said he plans to pay off the $50,000-plus line of credit that gaming agents discovered in his name at the Horseshoe.
He said most of the credit was obtained by his estranged wife, Doris, who bought things through the Horseshoe while remodeling the couple's home. Binion now is suing his wife for divorce.
"I've never mooched off the Horseshoe," he said. "I've always paid my way."
Binion, meanwhile, said he plans to show up for an April 9 public deposition before the Control Board.
The deposition was put off last week because Binion had to be in Family Court as part of his divorce proceedings.
"It's nerve-wracking to be brought in public," Binion said. "But I'll be there."
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