Tuesday, March 24, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.
Horseshoe Club co-owner Ted Binion lost his 11-year fight with regulators Monday, when the Nevada Gaming Commission revoked his license because of ties to murdered underworld figure Herbie Blitzstein.
The commission voted 4-0 to strip Binion of his license following a contentious nine-hour hearing in which the son of the late gaming pioneer Benny Binion acknowledged he had made a mistake doing business with Blitzstein.
"It's not the end of the world," Binion said after the hearing.
Binion, who now must consider selling his 20 percent interest in the Horseshoe, and his lawyers vowed to go to District Court to overturn the commission's unanimous ruling.
"We're going to look at his legal remedies," attorney Mark Ferrario said. "I'm surprised by the decision. I thought the hearing went very well for us. I thought we made our points very clear."
Binion's lawyers contended during the hearing that Binion unfairly was being singled out by state gaming agents. The complaint against Binion was the first ever against a licensee accused of bad associations.
Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible, who had pushed the complaint, today hailed the commission's ruling.
"Although these decisions are difficult, this commission like its predecessors voted to uphold Nevada's tradition of strict regulation of gaming," Bible said.
Commissioner Deborah Griffin, who presided over the hearing in the absence of Chairman Bill Curran, said the panel's decision struck at the heart of its responsibilities.
"I think we owe a duty to the citizens of the State of Nevada and to every licensee in the state to maintain the reputation that we've worked so hard to develop in this state," Griffin said.
The commission suspended Binion indefinitely last May after it concluded he had violated a previous suspension to stay out of the Horseshoe's operations. Binion's license has been suspended off and on the past 11 years because of drug problems.
There was no word today on how the commission's ruling will affect a bitter family court battle for control of the Horseshoe.
Binion's sister Becky Behnen is suing his brother, Horseshoe President Jack Binion, in District Court for alleged mismanagement in a bid to take over the downtown casino. Ted is said to have aligned himself with Jack, who owns 42 percent of the resort.
The commission, meanwhile, left little doubt where it stood on Binion's nefarious associations.
"I think we should send a clear message to the industry that we just don't like associating with notorious or unsavory characters," said Commissioner Augie Gurrola. "And one way or another we're going to eliminate all those types of situations."
Commissioner Sue Wagner told Binion he should have stayed far away from Blitzstein.
"As a suspended licensee, I feel you should have been extremely careful about who you associated with and what you did," Wagner said.
Griffin said Binion showed a "lack of judgment" by associating with Blitzstein.
During the hearing, Binion acknowledged that he maintained a business and social relationship with Blitzstein from 1994 through 1996 even though he knew Blitzstein was a convicted felon and top lieutenant of slain Chicago underworld figure Anthony Spilotro.
Binion admitted being in Blitzstein's company 20-25 during that period. He admitted allowing the underworld figure's auto shop to work on his cars, having dinner with Blitzstein and palling around with him at adult nightclubs. Binion said he even once gave Blitzstein a gold watch.
Blitzstein was killed gangland style Jan. 6, 1997 in a reported attempt by Los Angeles and Buffalo mobsters to take over his loan sharking, diamond swindling and insurance fraud operations.
Earlier this year, 16 mob figures, including reputed Los Angeles underboss Carmen Milano, were charged in a sweeping federal racketeering indictment stemming from Blitzstein's murder.
Blitzstein was shot to death a month after the Gaming Control Board voted to list him in Nevada's Black Book of undesirables banned from casinos.
At one point in the Binion investigation, Blitzstein asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination nearly two-dozen times and refused to answer questions about his ties to Binion.
On Monday, Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, cited her 5th Amendment rights 16 times when asked what she knew about Binion's relationship with Blitzstein and another reputed mob associate Peter Ribaste.
Binion previously acknowledged he had loaned Ribaste, said to be connected to the Kansas City mob, $100,000 to get into the used car business.
That deal formed the basis of another charge against Binion that was dropped after the commission decided to revoke Binion's license over the Blitzstein ties.
During the hearing, Binion testified that he considered Blitzstein a harmless man with health problems who claimed to have rehabilitated himself.
"He was just a dying old ex-felon who was lonely," Binion said.
But Binion acknowledged in hindsight that he erred by getting involved with Blitzstein.
"It worked out bad," he said. "It worked out real bad for me."
Binion's lawyers tried during the hearing to show that the Control Board was not playing fair with their client.
Ferrario and Richard Wright contended gaming agents have never bothered to pursue a complaint against the MGM Grand for signing a multimillion-dollar boxing contracts with promoter Don King and former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, both convicted felons. King was pardoned in Ohio.
Mirage Resorts Inc. Chairman Steve Wynn also never was disciplined for acknowledging that he had visited convicted junk bond king Michael Milken in prison, they charged.
archive
