Noted LV gambling writer dies

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 9:38 a.m.

Las Vegas gambling author Marty Mendelsohn drew from the best of two worlds -- the great wisdom of veteran gamblers and the vast technological gaming frontier of today.

From the mid-1970s he hung around with legendary gamblers such as "Cheesecake Ike," "Benny the Bite," "Crying Kenny," "Dick the Pick" and "Speedy Newman," soaking up and employing their tested betting philosophies.

In the early 1980s through the '90s Mendelsohn was a proponent of the use of computers to help gamblers beat the odds, sharing that knowledge in two of his six books.

Martin Mendelsohn, who also taught courses in sports betting at UNLV and the Community College of Southern Nevada, died Monday of cancer at Odyssey Harbor Hospice. He was 74.

"Marty was a great teacher," Las Vegas gaming analyst and radio talk show host Larry Grossman said. "He was on the cutting edge of computers and handicapping, well ahead of a large pack that followed."

"He was a guy who rolled out of bed every morning, went to his computer and started looking at the statistics that had come in overnight," veteran gambler Richard "Dick the Pick" Hall said.

"He was totally involved with the computer and he taught me the benefits of its uses," local gambler Herb "Speedy" Newman, 79, said.

There will be no services for Mendelsohn. Mendelsohn's books are: "The Castaways $100,000 1979 Pro Football Handicapping Championships," "The Theory and Practice of Las Vegas Style Sports Betting," "The Gambler's Joke and Story Book," "The Best of Sonny Reizner," "Sports Betting with Sonny Reizner" and "Video Poker for Profit."

"He told it like he saw it," said Reizner, the retired dean of Las Vegas bookmakers, who for many years ran the Hole-in-the-Wall sports book at the old Castaways hotel-casino.

Born Jan. 1, 1925, Mendelsohn got his first taste of Las Vegas at age 18 when he was stationed at the Las Vegas Army Gunnery School, which today is Nellis Air Force Base. He moved to Las Vegas in 1975 following a divorce.

In 1980 he founded the American Association of Documented Sports Services, which required area tout businesses to give Mendelsohn their betting selections before games so they could not later lie to potential customers about their win-loss records.

Mendelsohn is survived by two sons, Roy Mendelsohn of Forest Hills, N.Y., and Howard Mendelsohn of Frederick, Md.; a daughter, Shelley Sousa of Israel; a brother, Jack Mendelsohn, of San Diego; six grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.

The Gambler's Book Shop, at Mendelsohn's request, will donate the proceeds from the future sale of his books to KNPR public radio. The family requests donations be made to KNPR in Mendelsohn's memory.