Frank Rosenthal
A Chicago mobster, Frank Rosenthal arrived in Las Vegas on the order of his boss, Al Capone. In Vegas, Rosenthal oversaw the functioning of many highly successful casinos and is well-known for instituting the first set of bookmakers and venturing into sports betting, something that Vegas is well known for today. Soon after, however, the authorities made his connection to the mob, and he was prohibited from entering, let alone managing, any casino in Las Vegas. Since then, little is known about Frank Rosenthal. Presumably, however, it was believed that he ran many casinos using proxies until his death in 2008.
Moe Dalitz
Much like other famous mobsters who made their name in Vegas, Moe Dalitz was another product of the prohibition. After raking in the profits smuggling alcohol, he quickly migrated to operating casinos in Kentucky and Ohio, before moving to Las Vegas, where he could legally own and operate gambling enterprises. He started and ran four casinos in Vegas, and is a great example of a mobster who left the criminal life behind and legitimized himself as a businessman in the city of Las Vegas.
Tony The Hat Cornero
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The origins of Las Vegas and by extension, the culture, lifestyle, and businesses that came along with it, can be traced back to the days of prohibition. A young Tony Cornero, who was then a bootlegger of Canadian alcohol, saw an opportunity to take his earnings from the smuggling sector and invest it in the then empty city of Las Vegas. Here, he built the Green Meadows Casino – the first of it s kind, and kickstarted the vision for what would become the city of Las Vegas. Tony Cornero was, in a way, the father of Las Vegas. Unfortunately for him, his vision did become a reality and with it, came a number of regulatory bodies and governmental oversight. As a result, the Las Vegas Gambling Commission, who looked into Cornero s past practices and his connection to the mob, refused to grant him a license after Vegas had embraced the idea of an entertainment city. Soon after that, Cornero lost all his money and suspiciously died whilst playing craps in one of his casinos.
Johnny Roselli
Johnny Roselli was an Italian immigrant who moved to the City of Chicago in the early 1920s. Here, he developed a relationship with the Chicago mob, who sent him to Las Vegas, in the capacity of a representative. Roselli was tasked with collecting money owed to the Chicago mob from casino operations in Vegas and was largely successful in collecting any amount owed to them. He was also one of the few mob members who didn t shy away from the limelight, and became a producer, got involved in Hollywood and even made high-profile friendships, such as his well-documented relationship with Frank Sinatra, making him an unforgettable mobster who made his presence known in Las Vegas.
Bugsy Siegel –
The story of Bugsy Siegel is quite similar to that of Tony The Hat Cornero. Much like the hat himself, Bugsy was another bootlegger who saw the opportunity to strike gold in the Nevada desert. He is credited with building the Flamingo, the first grand and luxurious hotel in Nevada. This is where Siegel s story intertwines with the mob s hand in developing Las Vegas – His hotel, the Flamingo, was largely funded by the crime syndicates on the East Coast. During the construction of the hotel, Siegel was known to make appearances in the city and even had a relationship with actress Virginia Hill, who was at the peak of her stardom. Soon afterward, Bugsy Siegel was assassinated in Hill s apartment, where he was shot dead, presumably by rival mob gangs.
