The Mafia and their hand in Las Vegas
Las Vegas gambling all started with the Mafia. The Mafia got the idea of building Las Vegas from Cuba before Castro kicked them out and they took the money that they made from gambling in Cuba and built what we now know as Sin City. The Mafia didn't fully catch on to the moneymaking potential of Las Vegas until after World War II. The two most well known Mafia members that helped start Las Vegas are Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel. Bugsy Siegel built the Flamingo with Mafia money and opened it in 1946 but it soon closed and later was reopened in 1947 with a hotel. More and more Mafia Families were getting involved in opening up hotels on the Strip and on Fremont so all the families eventually agreed on a deal that gave each of them a hand in the other resort's that were not their's,
Laws against gambling and illegal gambling
In 1910, a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada. This is when the Mafia started underground gaming, the people who wanted to gamble had to either know the password to get in or know someone who new the password. During the Great Depression, gambling was allowed back in Las Vegas for the same reason that they revoked prohibition, because they wanted to tax it because they knew it would make money.
Las Vegas gambling all started with the Mafia. The Mafia got the idea of building Las Vegas from Cuba before Castro kicked them out and they took the money that they made from gambling in Cuba and built what we now know as Sin City. The Mafia didn't fully catch on to the moneymaking potential of Las Vegas until after World War II. The two most well known Mafia members that helped start Las Vegas are Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel. Bugsy Siegel built the Flamingo with Mafia money and opened it in 1946 but it soon closed and later was reopened in 1947 with a hotel. More and more Mafia Families were getting involved in opening up hotels on the Strip and on Fremont so all the families eventually agreed on a deal that gave each of them a hand in the other resort's that were not their's,
Laws against gambling and illegal gambling
In 1910, a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada. This is when the Mafia started underground gaming, the people who wanted to gamble had to either know the password to get in or know someone who new the password. During the Great Depression, gambling was allowed back in Las Vegas for the same reason that they revoked prohibition, because they wanted to tax it because they knew it would make money.