Top gamers, gamblers helped shape industry

Monday, March 19, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

Five of the top gaming executives and five of the top gamblers of the past 70 years went about achieving greatness in different ways, but each succeeded with his own brand of imagination and vision, a local gaming expert says.

"With Howard Hughes, I'm not so sure his success was by vision or in spite of himself," longtime Gamblers Book Club marketing director and editor Howard Schwartz said. "He was like a kid playing Monopoly and wanted all the toys."

Schwartz was asked by the Sun to pick five top gamers and five top gamblers who he felt contributed most to the first 70 years of legalized gambling in Nevada.

"I picked people who had great impact on the gambling scene -- imaginative people whose names have held up and who will be long remembered for their vision," Schwartz said.

The top five gamers:

* Hughes owned the Desert Inn, Sands, Frontier and other Strip properties. He later became recluse and died April 5, 1976.

* Benny Binion opened the Horseshoe in 1951, took astronomical craps bets, started the World Series of Poker in 1970 and died on Christmas Day 1989.

* Jackie Gaughan has owned 11 gaming properties and became known for his locals-oriented promotions. He owns El Cortez and the Plaza hotel-casinos.

* Kirk Kerkorian, one of the world's richest men, built the MGM Grand (now Bally's), International (now Las Vegas Hilton) and the current MGM Grand. He is the majority shareholder of MGM Mirage.

* Steve Wynn built a gaming empire that included the Mirage, Golden Nugget and Bellagio -- and was recently bought out by MGM Grand. He has since purchased the Desert Inn and has big plans for that property.

"With Hughes you had the man responsible for ushering in the corporate age of Las Vegas resorts, Wynn brought in the megaresort era, and Gaughan inspired others to be hands-on owners," Schwartz said.

The top five gamblers:

* Nick "The Greek" Dandolos won and lost a half-billion dollars in his storied career and died Christmas Day 1966. Dandolos, Schwartz said, epitomized "the flamboyant, devil-may-care, anything-goes gambling image of Las Vegas."

* Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson wrote "Super System," the bible of no-limit poker and twice won the World Series of Poker. He is in the Poker Hall of Fame at the Horseshoe.

* David "Chip" Reese, a Dartmouth graduate with a 146 IQ, is one of the best all-around poker players and was one of the youngest players inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

* Australian billionaire Kerry Packer has become a legend in just the last decade for his astronomical wagers at the blackjack and baccarat tables.

* Sports bettor Lester "Lem" Banker, a Las Vegas resident since the 1960s, primarily made his living betting sports and is considered one of the world's savviest specialized bettors.