Movie About Life of Benny Binion in the Making

9 years ago
Movie About Life of Benny Binion in the Making
13:21
14 Jan

The life of legendary Las Vegas gambler, mob and casino boss Benny Binion will be made into a movie. The screen rights to "Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion"were purchased by global media company Relativity, who selected Cliff Dorfman to adapt the book written by Doug Swanson.

Binion’s résumé reads like this: cowboy, pioneering casino owner, gangster, killer and founder of the World Series of Poker. The book chronicles his role in shaping modern Las Vegas. From a Texas backwater, Binion rose to prominence on a combination of vision, determination and brutal expediency. His formula was simple: Run a good business, cultivate the big boys, kill your enemies, own the cops. While he controlled his competition through ruthless violence, his irresistible charm brought him the protection of the political elite." www.deadline.com;

Benny Binion, the American gambling icon, was born in November 1904 in Grayson County, Texas. Binion’s FBI file reveals a criminal history dating back to 1924 and lists offenses such as theft, carrying concealed weapons and a murder conviction.

In 1951, Benny opened Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, which immediately became popular because of the high limits allowed on bets, making the Horseshoe one of the more profitable casinos around. Benny was an excellent businessman and brought innovations to the Las Vegas casino world. He was the first owner to dispatch limousines to transfer customers to and from the casino, he offered free drinks for all the players, and gave comps to everybody even though the standard up to that time was for high rollers only.

I came to admire the man. He went from street thug to top gangster to respected businessman to revered civic pillar, which I believe is unmatched in the history of American criminal justice. He started the World Series of Poker from nothing, and look where it is today. And he would say things like, “Religion is too strong a mystery to doubt.” By the time I finished writing the book, I was surprised at how much I liked the guy." Doug Swanson, author, www.nytimes.com;

Despite being a criminal and having many enemies, Benny had a great number of friends and was very generous to his employees. When he celebrated his 83rd birthday, 18,000 friends and admirers showed up for his party, including many celebrities and underworld characters.

No movie release dates or actors are known at this time, but it will be interesting to see who will take on the challenge to play the role of the legendary Benny Binion, who passed away in 1989.


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Ines is a Journalism student with many interests, poker being one of these. Her passion to learn and develop her horizons make her a valuable contributor to the site's content.Read more

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