Steem Poker League History Lesson Continues : Benny Binion!

Hey Steemian Poker Pals! I wrote a post the other day highlighting the history of poker and only briefly got the chance to mention one of the most interesting characters in American history, Benny Binion.

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Early Begninings

Benny Binion was born in Pilot Grove, Texas. Being a sickly child, he never went to formal school but instead traveled with his father, a horse trader. What did horse traders do, B, when they all got together to trade horses? you may ask. They GAMBLED, my friends! Ohh, yes they did! And not like, sweet, fair, happy gambling like we do these days. Our sweet Benny was schooled in the art of hard knocks, earning a list of crimes by the time he was twenty that included not one but TWO murder convictions, theft and carrying concealed weapons.

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Honing His Craft In Dallas

Benny ran ‘several dice games’ in hotels in Dallas in the mid 1930’s which really means he was the boss of the underworld in Dallas for about a decade. There were gun fights in the streets, bombings, all kinds of fun stuff while Benny ran the book. If you’re interested, read Blood Aces. It’s fascinating and details Benny’s life in Dallas and how he came to move to Vegas and run the show there, too.

of course I own it

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Vegas, Baby!

Being as how Benny and family had to flee the scene in Dallas once he no longer had politicians and police in his pocket, of course he ended up in Las Vegas. He opened Binion’s Horseshoe casino in 1951, where the high bet limits attracted high rollers and often garnered death threats on sweet ole Benny. In 1971, after procuring the rights to the Gaming Fraternity Reunion and adding the idea of a ‘freeze out’ tournament which Amarillo Slim took credit for suggesting, we have the origins of Texas Hold’em poker and the World Series of Poker!

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So, if you’re into American History, play poker! If you like cards, play poker! If you’re into history, cards, poker AND Cryptocurrency, play poker on Lucksacks.com! Free to play, free to win, win SBD’s and get to know some fellow Steemians!
I’m there most of the time. Don’t judge, I like history! 😉

Rules!

You must have and KEEP a Reputation on Steemit of 35 or higher
Must be an actual, active member of the Steemit
You must have a valid, appropriate introduction post, with a picture and a date, to show that you are in fact a real live person. If you don’t want to show your face, fine, be creative, just make sure we know you’re an actual person in the here and now
Register at lucksacks.com and MAKE SURE your email address AND your Steemit name are correct

Please remember your password!

Come to our discord channel and let us know you’re ready to play!

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Catch you on the felt!

xo, @bethalea