• Blood Aces

  • The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker
  • By: Doug J. Swanson
  • Narrated by: John McLain
  • Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (373 ratings)

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Blood Aces  By  cover art

Blood Aces

By: Doug J. Swanson
Narrated by: John McLain
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Publisher's summary

The astonishing story of Benny Binion - a rip-roaring saga of murder, money, and the making of Las Vegas. Benny Binion was many things: a cowboy, a pioneering casino owner, a gangster, a killer, and founder of the hugely successful World Series of Poker. Blood Aces tells the story of Binion's crucial role in shaping modern Las Vegas. From a Texas backwater, Binion rose to prominence on a combination of vision, determination, and brutal expediency.

©2014 Doug J. Swanson (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Blood Aces

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

FOLK ANTI-HERO

Benny Binion led an interesting life. I had watched the murder trial of his son Ted and thought I might find a book about his father interesting,but I was wrong. It didn't hold my interest. I have concluded that Benny had better luck than he deserved.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't go very far

It's a poor review due to the fact that I could only stay with it for 3 chapters.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Truth be told

The image of Benny Binion that was portrayed in Vegas after his death was that he was a friendly old gambler cattle rancher who owed a casino or two. A lot of people, both locals and tourists, believed it too.
Blood Aces shows a different side of Binion. In his early years Benny was the kind of man who would have people killed for getting in the way of his illegal gambling operations in Texas before relocating to Las Vegas.
While the book does cover Binion's conviction for Tax Fraud in the 1950's and the period that the Horseshoe was owned by Joe W. Brown I would have liked a little more detail on this.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not much new

Okay biography but did not add too much to what I already knew. Good narration though. The story seemed a little rushed later in his life.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I loved this story

Great story about the early days of Dallas as well as Vegas- and of course Benny Binion.

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perfect

Great story of Benny’s life and also of the whole era. Very well researched.
Narrator’s voice is perfect. This is a fascinating biography of the man and the times

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Unbelievable story

Is this a movie? I feel like it has to have a movie made about this book.

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Great Title to listen to

This is a great listen. I didn't know this history. very interesting. highly recommend this one.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

a great mobster book.

the story of vinnie Binion founder of the horse casino in Las vegas. he also invented the world series of poker and was a key figure in Las Vegas for many years, but he had a checkered past and was suspected of committing a lot of crimes. a very interesting story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good listen.

Interesting book. Nice lesson. Nice way to pass the time I enjoyed the book and found it entertaining.

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