Moe Dalitz and Las Vegas

Ever wonder how Las Vegas got so big, so fast, in the 1950's? Ever heard of Moe Dalitz? Well, "Bugsy" Siegel may have had something to do with Las Vegas casinos getting a boost in popularity in the late 1940's, but he got whacked in '47. Dead and gone before the boom.

In the 1930's, Detroit's Purple Gang was politically and financially independent when a few of their strongest citizens moved to Cleveland to sell booze and set up casinos. Morris Barney Dalitz and his partners put other operators out of business, greased the politicians with plenty of cash, and set up shop. But is was cold.

Well, that wasn't the only reason Dalitz and his partners moved west to Las Vegas, but a well-timed and organized move into a friendly political atmosphere was just what the doctor ordered, and Vegas was never the same afterward.

Although there are several books that mention Moe Dalitz, nothing compares to the 300-page tome put forth by Michael Newton and published by MacFarland and Company, Inc. Mr Mob - The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz chronicles Moe's life from cradle to grave, with nearly half the book concentrating on his time in Las Vegas at the helm of the skims, the political graft, and the day-to-day operations of the Desert Inn and the Stardust casinos.

While the FBI bugged Moe's offices and kept constant surveillance on his whereabouts, they never shared the fact that the casinos were being skimmed for millions and millions of dollars, or that money was going directly from the casino cage to state and federal politicians, with any other intelligence agencies.

Even when word of casino profit skimming got to the Nevada Control Board and the IRS, Dalitz was never arrested. In fact, he spent the next 25-years building up a facade of respectability through a cunning publicity campaign and adequate philanthropy, all the while helping his "friends" open new casinos and building a personal fortune of over $100 million dollars. That's how Vegas grew so fast!