Columnist Jeff German: Binion’s failure inevitable

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 | 11 a.m.

There's a good chance that even the legendary Benny Binion couldn't have saved Binion's Horseshoe from falling victim to progress.

That didn't make it any less sad, however, to watch federal marshals Friday shut down a casino that is such a big part of Las Vegas folklore.

The closure, the result of a court order to satisfy a $2 million debt to the Culinary Union's health and pension funds, was a day we probably knew was coming.

The Horseshoe, run by Binion's daughter Becky Behnen, simply didn't have the resources and the cutthroat boardroom attitude needed to survive in today's competitive corporate climate in Las Vegas.

It also had the misfortune of sitting in the middle of downtown, which has not kept pace with the furious growth on the Strip.

I'm not a Harvard business grad, but I suspect the failure of the Horseshoe and other downtown casinos to reinvest in their properties and compete with the Strip megaresorts is one of the biggest sins of all in Las Vegas.

And until the casinos start contributing more to the overall effort to clean up downtown, no redevelopment plan will ever be successful.

So maybe the Horseshoe's demise will serve as a wakeup call along Fremont Street. With gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. looking to buy the Horseshoe and others, such as the energetic Tim Poster and Tom Breitling taking the reins of the Golden Nugget, there is at least reason to be optimistic about the future.

The truth is the Horseshoe, one of the last family-owned casinos in Las Vegas, hasn't been the same since Benny Binion died in 1989 at the age of 85. And neither has Las Vegas, as Wall Street has taken over the gaming industry.

Binion was regarded as a ruffian who had built a vast illegal gambling empire in Texas in the 1940s.

As the legend goes, Binion put down roots in Las Vegas in 1947, just as Bugsy Siegel was opening the Flamingo, after the Dallas authorities closed Binion's houses of gambling. He supposedly arrived here with $2 million in cash stuffed in suitcases.

Binion opened the Horseshoe in 1951 and, with friendly personal service, no-limit gambling and fine dining at reasonable prices, turned it into one of the city's most popular hangouts, later making it the home of the famous World Series of Poker.

Behnen's effort to carry on the colorful tradition of her father at the Horseshoe was admirable. But it probably was doomed from the very day she wrested control of the casino from her brother, Jack Binion, during a nasty family feud in 1998.

Like other downtown casino owners, Behnen either didn't have the cash or failed to understand that, to be successful in today's competitive market, a casino has to put money back into its property and think of itself as more than a grind joint.

The Strip megaresorts all have big-name entertainment, quality hotel accommodations, a variety of dining options, world-class shopping and high-tech sports books.

No one expects the casinos on Fremont Street to live up to this standard. Benny Binion certainly never had to think about these things in his day.

But that doesn't mean those following in his footsteps today shouldn't try.