Benny Binion was born in Pilot Grove Texas in 1904. When he was 18, young Binion moved to El Paso and opened a moonshining business. A year later he moved to Dallas and opened gambling and bootlegging businesses. This is his story before and after he fled to Las Vegas as told in some of the best books about Benny Binion. Note: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

 I'll Do My Own Damn Killin': Benny Binion, Herbert Noble, and the Texas Gambling War

In the early days, before he founded the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas and became the patron saint of the World Series of Poker, cowboy Benny Binion was a horse trader, a bootlegger, and the "boss gambler" of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas  . . . Read more

They say in Vegas you can’t understand the town unless you understand Benny Binion—mob boss, casino owner, and creator of the World Series of Poker. Binion built a gambling empire in Dallas. When the law chased him out of town, he loaded up suitcases with cash . . . . Read more

Benny Binion (The Dallas Vigilanties and the Texas Hold'em Poker)

Benny Binion was a soldier of fortune at the turn of the century in Texas. His fearless determination to control his fate, first boot-legging then gambling, left an indelible imprint on Dallas history and the world of gambling. He was capable of activating his charm or his ferocious rage as implements of choice, just as he could either a pencil or the sawed- off shotgun . . . Read more

Prohibition in Dallas & Fort Worth: Blind Tigers, Bootleggers and Bathtub Gin

1920s Dallas boasted one bar for every one hundred people, and a thirsty Texan could find a drink nearly anywhere. The drinks never stopped pouring in Dallas and Fort Worth, fueled by the likes of Jack Ruby, Benny Binion, saloons and dance halls . . . Read more

The Mob Chronicles: Episode 2: Benny Binion; Prelude to a Blood Feud

In Episode 2 of the Mob Chronicles, Author Andrew J. McLean traces Binion’s rise from humble beginnings during Prohibition in 1919 to a seat of power in the Dallas underworld. By the end of World War II, more than 24 “casinos” operated illegally in downtown Dallas hotels . . . Read more