Las Vegas' Dirtiest Secrets: A Countdown of the 10 Most Shocking Scandals
Each city has its own share of unsavory incidents. Las Vegas, in particular, has more than its fair share. From government officials to casino bigwigs to murderers, many individuals believe that what happens in Vegas stays there, including any legal consequences.
In times of organized crime, this was undoubtedly true. No other American city relied so heavily on money from illicit sources for its growth and security. The mob's money polluted the legal system, influencing police officers, judges, and even lawmakers.
Even after the casino industry distanced itself from its criminal roots in the 1980s, certain individuals continued to believe that they could get away with anything in Vegas if they had enough power.
10. Operation G-Sting
Between 2006 and 2009, 17 individuals admitted guilt to various charges connected to bribing public officials. Among these were four Clark County Commissioners found guilty of accepting bribes from Michael Galardi, owner of three strip clubs on the southern Nevada Strip. Galardi and fellow strip club owner Rick Rizzolo were attempting to abolish local "no touch" laws.
The investigation, nicknamed "G-Sting" as a regrettable play on words related to the G-strings worn by exotic dancers, included interviews with actors George Clooney, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, who had all interacted with Rizzolo at his mob-tainted Crazy Horse Too club.
Clark County Commissioners Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, Dario Herrera, Erin Kenny, and Lance Malone were all convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud, among other charges, and received prison sentences in 2006 and 2007. Galardi served 18 months of a 30-month sentence and paid $530K in fines and restitution.
U.S. District Judge Larry Hacks described Operation G-Sting as "some of the most brazen corruption of local government that has ever occurred in Nevada."
9. Tupac Shakur's Murder Investigation
On September 7, 1996, the rising star of rap music met an untimely end while traveling in a car on Flamingo Road near Koval Lane.
As Death Row Records owner Suge Knight drove Tupac Shakur from the Mike Tyson fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to a nightclub, a white Cadillac pulled up alongside their black BMW 750i. A window lowered, and a dozen shots were fired, with four of them hitting Shakur. He died on September 13th, aged 25.
The unsettling aspect of this tragedy is how it could occur in such a crowded setting without a single suspect being charged.
Some conspiracy theorists claim that six off-duty officers were part of Death Row's security detail, resulting in a corrupt investigation. Las Vegas police strongly deny this, stating that the investigation was stymied due to a lack of cooperation from witnesses in Shakur's entourage.
Orlando Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips, is believed by Los Angeles police to be one of the gunmen involved. Surveillance footage from the MGM Grand shows Shakur's entourage assaulting Anderson minutes before the murder. The conflict was allegedly over a stolen medallion.
We'll never know for sure because Anderson was killed in a Compton, California shootout in 1998, when he denied any involvement in the crime.
8. Harry's Crown Jewels Revealed
Had this occurred in a just world, it would not warrant mention in any scandalous list anywhere. In August 2012, Prince Harry, a 27-year-old bachelor, had a wild weekend in Vegas. Possibly involving sexual encounters, possibly not.
This was just another Vegas weekend for any other young and wealthy single male. But photos of Harry's antics leaked, causing an uproar in England. For years, the British public couldn't stop discussing this weekend and the role Las Vegas played in it.
During the day, Harry and his friends hung out at the MGM Grand's Wet Republic Pool party, where the women in the neighboring cabana claimed he asked, "Which one of you is single?" while "sticking out his tongue and behaving loudly and absurdly."
That evening, they returned to their fully paid, $7,000-a-night suite at the Wynn and played strip billiards. They were naked and photographed — what?!! — embracing one another.
Upon his return to England, Harry was forced to issue an apology for dragging the royal family into international disgrace.
On a side note, Harry has a clear ginger complexion.
7. Stardust Skim
In the spirit of fairness, this would not appear on anyone's scandalous list in a fair world. In August 2012, Prince Harry, a 27-year-old single man, had an exciting weekend in Vegas. Some casual sex might have been involved, while other times it might not have been.
He spent his day at the MGM Grand's Wet Republic Pool party with friends, where the girls in the surrounding cabana alleged that Harry asked, "Which one of you is single?" while "protruding his tongue and behaving very strangely."
At night, they returned to their $7,000-per-night, fully comped suite at the Wynn. There, they played strip billiards, all while being unclothed and photographed — what?!! — embracing each other.
Back in England, Harry was compelled to apologize for dragging the royal family's reputation through the mud internationally.
This was one of the largest casino scams ever exposed in Las Vegas. It's believed that there may have been even bigger scams going on undetected since the 1940s.
After the Stardust was bought in 1979, the new owners, Al Sachs and Herb Tobman, denied any involvement but lost their gaming licenses and had to pay a $3 million fine – the largest imposed at the time by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
In a 1985 federal trial, nine mob members either got convicted or pleaded guilty, receiving prison time. Rosenthal, who survived a car-bombing attempt in 1982 outside a Vegas Tony Roma's restaurant, also escaped indictment. However, he was banned from all Nevada casinos permanently.
These convictions marked the end of the mob's control over the casinos in Las Vegas. While they're still around, they've been pushed into the shadows of strip clubs, illegal prostitution, and drugs.
6. Ted Binion's Murder Trials
On September 17, 1998, Ted Binion was discovered dead in his Las Vegas home. Two years later, his ex-stripper girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her boyfriend, Binion acquaintance Rick Tabish, were found guilty of his murder. They both received life sentences.
In 2003, their convictions were overturned by the Nevada Supreme Court due to irregularities in the jury deliberation. At their 2004 retrial, they were acquitted of murder as the prosecution couldn't convince jurors of Binion's cause of death.
This attracted national attention and reinforced the idea that anything can be gotten away with in Vegas.
Murphy and Tabish were convicted on charges of conspiring to commit burglary, burglary, and grand larceny. They tried to steal silver from the gaming executive's vault in Pahrump after his death.
5. Immediate Flamingo Takeover After Bugsy Murder
On June 20, 1947, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, credited with completing the Flamingo Hotel, was assassinated. The bullet entered the back of his skull and exited through his eye socket, causing his eyeball to fly across the room. The case remains unsolved.
While the murder might have happened in Beverly Hills, it put Las Vegas on the international map. Just 20 minutes after the event, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum, and other known gang associates stormed the hotel and claimed control. This confirmed that Las Vegas was under full mob control.
4. Operation Yobo
In 1983, five prominent politicians, including state senators Floyd Lamb and Eugene Echols, Clark County Commissioners Woodrow Wilson and Jack Petitti, and Reno City Councilman Joe McClelland, were convicted of soliciting bribes during a sting that went by the name of Las Vegas FBI boss Joseph Yablonsky.
Lamb was the initial target when he demanded a 1% "finder's fee" on a $15 million loan from FBI agent Steve Rybar at the Public Employees Retirement System. He spent nine months in prison.
Lamb was from a well-known and reputable local family. His brother, Ralph, served as sheriff of Clark County, and another brother, Darwin, was a Clark County Commissioner. There was never any name change to Floyd Lamb Park in Las Vegas, despite his indictment.
Three out of the five convicts served their full sentences. Lamb's three-year sentence was shortened due to health reasons, released after serving just nine months. McClelland's guilty verdict was later overturned because of flawed jury instructions after he'd already served his one-year term.
This incident solidified the notion that state and local officials in Las Vegas are untrustworthy.
3. Conviction of a Sitting Federal Judge
Only one federal judge in history has been convicted of a crime while still sitting on the bench. It happened in Las Vegas. Harry Claiborne, an ex-law partner of former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, was impeached by the US House of Representatives and convicted by the US Senate for tax evasion in 1986.
He was initially charged with taking bribes over $30K and failing to pay taxes on over $100K. However, a mistrial was declared, and only the tax evasion charge was applied during the second trial.
Claiborne was represented by Goodman at his trial, was imprisoned from May 1986 to October 1987, and was later allowed to return to legal practice in Nevada in 1987. He committed suicide from gunshot wounds in 2004, suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other health issues.
2. MIT Blackjack Cheating Scandal
A group of highly intelligent college students, mainly from MIT and Harvard, used their math skills to consistently beat Las Vegas casinos at blackjack. Led by 1980 Harvard MBA graduate Bill Kaplan, the group made $10M and trained many of its members.
Their activities were the subject of the 2008 film "21," and resulted in a severe black eye for Las Vegas.
The most fascinating aspect of this scandal is that those responsible managed to avoid being discovered for two decades and could have possibly carried on undetected if not for a disgruntled former colleague who exposed the situation in the '90s.
Although they didn't entirely go under the radar, some of them were caught and barred from the casinos where they'd made their profits. Nonetheless, this didn't hinder the operation because they could simply be replaced by a new team member.
In time, all the members were prohibited from playing at the establishments they'd benefited from, but they'd already amassed millions without ever spending a day in jail. It's worth noting that card counting is not illegal anywhere despite what casinos may believe about the practice.
1. The Steve Wynn Sex Scandal
Steve Wynn is undoubtedly the architect of modern Las Vegas, responsible for the transformation of the Strip from its past of cheap buffets and fading superstars into the luxurious playground it is today.
The serious allegations of sexual misconduct brought against him by several women in a jaw-dropping investigation published by the Wall Street Journal on January 26, 2018, are impossible to refute. These claims include sexual harassment, coercion, indecent exposure, and even a reported sexual assault case that was settled for $7.5 million.
Nevada regulators fined Wynn Resorts $20 million in February 2019 for failing to address these accusations, and in April 2019, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission imposed an additional $35 million fine for covering them up.
Wynn relinquished his position as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts in 2018. As part of his split with the company he established in 2002, which still carries his name, he was evicted from his villa at Wynn Las Vegas, where he had lived with his second wife, Andrea Hissom, for almost a decade. The couple now lives in Florida.
Wynn continues to refute all the allegations and has never been convicted of a crime in connection with them.
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Source: www.casino.org
