Binion’s sister asks for stand-in

Friday, April 24, 1998 | 9:58 a.m.

A district judge has been asked to install former Howard Hughes confidant Robert Maheu at the helm of Binion's Horseshoe Club until a bitter family fight for control of the hotel-casino is resolved.

Becky Behnen filed papers in District Court alleging Maheu's appointment as an independent receiver is necessary to stop her brother, Horseshoe President Jack Binion, from steering the legendary downtown resort on a course of financial disaster.

"Fortunately, Nevada statutory law provides the court with the power to fashion a remedy pending the resolution of this case to stop Jack Binion's unnecessary journey toward the Horseshoe club's ruin," Behnen said in her motion.

Maheu, reported to be friends with Behnen and Binion, once ran the gaming empire of the late Hughes in Las Vegas. He still holds an unrestricted gaming license.

District Judge Nancy Becker has scheduled a May 18 hearing on his appointment, which also would have to be approved by Nevada gaming regulators.

State Gaming Control Board Chairman Bill Bible said Thursday he has obtained a copy of the 45-page motion, but has yet to review it.

Binion, who has accused his sister of not understanding the gaming business, did not return phone calls.

His lawyer, Morton Galane, refused two requests for comment, and Horseshoe attorney Frank Schreck also declined to discuss Behnen's allegations.

Binion, the Horseshoe's majority owner with 42 percent of its stock, will get a chance to respond to Behnen's charges in writing before the May 18 hearing.

Behnen's request is the latest action to rock the Horseshoe the past several years since the deaths of Horseshoe founder Benny Binion and his wife, Teddy Jane.

Last month, the Nevada Gaming Commission stripped Behnen's other brother, Ted Binion of his license and ordered him to sell his 20 percent interest because of allegations he associated with the late Chicago mob figure Herbie Blitzstein.

Behnen, who first sued Jack Binion for alleged mismanagement of the Horseshoe more than two years ago, contended in her papers that a series of improper and reckless business decisions by Binion has harmed her 18 percent interest in the hotel.

She alleged that Binion has been using Horseshoe assets in recent years at her expense to further his own lucrative gaming operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Horseshoe profits have slipped dramatically since Binion began focusing his attention outside Nevada, Behnen charged.

For the fiscal year ending in June 1997, the Horseshoe suffered "unprecedented" losses of $20 million, she alleged.

Behnen said the Horseshoe doesn't even have enough cash on hand for the pending buyout of Ted Binion's interests.

Behnen questioned several of Jack Binion's business deals with such Horseshoe high-rollers as world-class professional poker players Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson that allegedly put her brother into conflicts of interest with the Horseshoe.

She provided an insider's look into her brother's dealings with other high-rollers, such as Kamel Nacif, a Mexican national Binion allegedly bailed out of jail on tax evasion charges. She said Binion paid Nacif's $2 million bond and then loaned him another $4 million to gamble at other casinos. The $4 million was never paid back.

Binion also reportedly obtained a high-interest $2.5 million personal loan from Indonesian high-rollers, Behnen described as the Widjajas, while allowing them to gamble large sums of money at the Horseshoe.

Behnen alleged Binion has flaunted gaming regulations, mismanaged baccarat and slot machine operations and concealed crucial financial information and company dealings from her that she's entitled to as a shareholder.

Though locked in a bitter legal battle, Behnen has been trying the past two years to buy out her older brother.