Ted Binion
Lonnie Theodore "Ted" Binion (November 28, 1943 – September 17, 1998) was a wealthy U.S. gambling executive and one of the sons of famed Las Vegas casino magnate Lester Ben "Benny" Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe. His death has been a subject of controversy; girlfriend Sandra Murphy and her lover Rick Tabish were initially charged and convicted in Binion's death, but were later granted a new trial and acquitted on the murder charges.
Ted Binion was born in Dallas in 1943. He had an older brother, Jack, and three sisters: Becky, Brenda, and Barbara. Binion moved to Las Vegas with his father in 1946. He was involved early on in his father's casino, the Horseshoe.
While growing up, Ted spent summers at the family's Montana retreat, a cattle ranch in Jordan, to work with the ranch hands. Later, in the early 1960s, Benny sent his three grandsons—his daughter Barbara’s sons—to Montana to work on the ranch. By the 1980s, Benny had amassed an 85,000-acre (340 km2) ranch, according to the county recorder’s office. The last parcel he purchased was in 1985. The family sold all the parcels in April 1998 to John Hillenbrand.
In 1964, Benny Binion regained full control of the Horseshoe after previously selling his interest to cover his legal costs defending himself from tax evasion and other charges. Since he was a convicted criminal, Benny was no longer allowed to hold a gaming license. His sons Jack and Ted--aged only 23 and 21, respectively--took over the day-to-day operation of the casino, while Benny remained on the payroll as a "consultant." Jack became president of the Horseshoe, while Ted became casino manager.
For the next 30 years, Ted was the face that was most seen during the peak evening hours of the casino operation and became well known as the host of the Horseshoe's poker tournaments. Binion loved living the high life and partying, schmoozing with high-profile guests of the Horseshoe, and flirting with attractive women.
He was arrested in 1986 on drug trafficking charges and began drawing attention for his connection to organized crime figure "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein. From that point on, Binion was in hot water with the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Besides his drug problems and association with mob figures, the Nevada Gaming Control Board suspected that he was using his live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, as a bagwoman. Binion had met Murphy while she was working at Cheetah's, a topless club. His dalliances with her had caused his estranged wife and daughter to pack up and leave for Texas.
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