Las Vegas junket king Weintraub dies at 77

By Ed Koch

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 1997 | 10:44 a.m.

Julie Weintraub made a good living as a New York jeweler, but his love for craps made Las Vegas casinos even wealthier.

From those early financial setbacks, however, Weintraub came up with the idea to bring other East Coast gamblers to town. As a result, he became the king of Las Vegas junkets.

"By leaving his money at the craps tables, my father got to know all of the gaming executives, and he already knew all of the craps players back in New York because that was the game of choice," said Paul Weintraub, baccarat manager at The Mirage.

"He thought, why not bring them here. My father made sure they got off the plane, got back on the plane and took care of them while they were in town."

"Big Julie" Weintraub, who for four decades was one of the city's most colorful gaming figures and was known for his extensive charity work in New York and Las Vegas, has died. He was 77.

Weintraub died Sunday of respiratory failure in Las Vegas. Although associated with Las Vegas for 39 years, he lived here just four months -- the last four, with his son.

"He loved the excitement of the city -- the feeling of energy you get every time you step off the plane," Paul Weintraub said. "And, he loved to show people a good time. Taking care of his customers was the No. 1 thing."

Services will be Wednesday in Manhattan. Interment will be in New Montefiore Cemetery on Long Island. A Las Vegas memorial service is pending.

Weintraub's years in the junket business were detailed in the 1974 book "Big Julie of Las Vegas," by Edward Linn, published by the Gambler's Book Shop.

"Big Julie was way up there among the colorful figures in Las Vegas history," said Paul Ruchman, manager of the Gambler's Book Shop at 630 S. 11th St. "Julie used to bring in the low and high rollers when Las Vegas was really kicking. He knew the ins and outs of the city."

Ruchman said the book, which has sold hundreds of copies, is still in print and available at the store. Just four months ago, Weintraub came in and autographed some copies, he said.

"Julie was a wonderful man of great integrity," said Charles Meyerson, an 82-year-old casino host at The Mirage who was friends with Weintraub for more than 50 years.

"I was one of his customers on his junkets. He knew the name of the game was taking care of people. When we got back home, we told others and they came to Las Vegas.

"He had a heart of gold."

Weintraub, who got his nickname because he stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 260 pounds in his prime, once estimated that as manager of the New York office for the old Dunes Hotel, he brought 12,000 people to Las Vegas on his junkets.

Born Nov. 25, 1919, in New York City, Weintraub graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.

A Navy veteran of World War II, Weintraub earned a Purple Heart.

For many years, he operated Charles Weintraub & Co. Jewelers in New York.

He first came to Las Vegas in 1958, and ran his junket business from the early 1960s until he retired in 1983.

In the early 1980s, Weintraub ran into problems with the Nevada and New Jersey gaming commissions over allegations that he failed to disclose information to a Los Angeles grand jury investigating alleged illegal check cashing operations.

It also was alleged that he had transactions with persons of unsavory reputations.

As a result, in 1983, Weintraub was denied a license to operate in New Jersey. In the 1960s, Weintraub was twice denied a gaming license to buy a 1 percent interest in the Dunes, but gaming officials allowed him to continue to conduct his junket business.

"My father never felt betrayed by the gaming industry, but he also felt he had never done anything wrong," Paul Weintraub said. "He was hurt that people felt that way about him."

Weintraub's roots were solidly entrenched in New York, but a big piece of his heart and soul remained in Las Vegas.

"Although I live in New York, I consider myself a citizen of Las Vegas as well because I'm here at least 26 weekends a year," Weintraub said in a 1975 interview.

In the 1970s, Weintraub conducted several local celebrity golf tournaments that raised thousands of dollars for local charities.

"As for charities, well, I've known suffering, and I feel I must do what I can to help people with medical handicaps who can't afford help otherwise," he said.

The suffering Weintraub referred to included the loss of his first wife, Rita, to cancer, and the loss of an infant son, Russ, by his second wife, to leukemia.

He built wings in their honor at the New York hospitals where they died. Weintraub personally raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research at those facilities.

In Southern Nevada, Weintraub regularly donated to or raised funds for the Helen J. Stewart School, St. Rose de Lima Hospital in Henderson, the Heart Fund, the Kidney Foundation, Retarded Children of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas chapter of Multiple Sclerosis and UNLV.

Of his charitable doings, Weintraub once commented: "I'm not a doctor so I can't help the sick or injured in a direct way. But I am in a position to donate money and I can channel the flow of money, so I try to help people that way."

In addition to his son, Weintraub is survived by another son, Mark Weintraub, a U.S. Marine captain stationed in Yuma, Ariz.; two daughters, Lois Weintraub of New York state and Rebecca Matura of Manhattan; two sisters, Yetta Lippen of South Fallsburg, N.Y., and Maralyn Weintraub of Manhattan; and one grandchild.