He ran a famous casino known as the Top O' Hill Terrace in Arlington, as well as a horsetrack. īy the end of 1936, Binion had gained control of most gambling operations in Dallas, with protection from a powerful local politician. This came to be known as the Southland Syndicate.

In the same year as the murder of Frieden, Binion established a network of private dice games at several Dallas hotels, including the Southland Hotel in downtown Dallas. Binion was never indicted for this murder, and charges were dropped against his associates. Two years later, Binion and associates allegedly killed Sam Murray, another of his competitors in the gambling rackets. Binion was indicted, but the indictment was later dismissed on the grounds that Binion had acted in self-defense. Binion then allegedly shot himself in the shoulder and turned himself in to police, claiming that Frieden had shot him first. In 1936, Binion and an associate killed a numbers operator and competitor, Ben Frieden, emptying their pistols into him. He received a two-year suspended sentence. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing an African American rum-runner, Frank Bolding, 'cowboy style.' This was the origin of Binion's 'Cowboy' nickname. In addition to his moonshining, in 1928, Binion opened up an even more lucrative numbers game. George Hotel casino on Commerce Street in Dallas. While moonshining, Binion came into contact with Warren Diamond and became a dice dealer for Diamond's St. A year later Binion moved to Dallas and continued moonshining, for which he was twice convicted. At age 18 he moved to El Paso, where he began moonshining during the Prohibition Era. Criminal history īinion's FBI file reveals a criminal history dating back to 1924. As he traveled with his father, the young man learned to gamble, a favorite pastime when horse traders met up with farmers and merchants during county fair trade days.

While the outdoor life restored his health, Binion never had any formal education. His father, a horse trader, let him accompany him on trips. His parents initially kept him out of school due to poor health.

In the 1940s he relocated to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and opened the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.īenny Binion was born and raised in Pilot Grove, Texas, north of Dallas. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a rum-runner, Frank Bolding. Lester Ben Binion (Novem– December 25, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American career criminal who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas- Fort Worth, Texas, area.

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