In addition to his moonshining, in 1928, Binion opened up an even more lucrative numbers game. A year later Binion moved to Dallas and continued moonshining, for which he was twice convicted.
At age 18 he moved to El Paso, where he began moonshining during the Prohibition Era. Criminal history īinion's FBI file reveals a criminal history dating back to 1924. As he traveled with his father, the young man learned to gamble, a favorite pastime when horse traders met up with farmers and merchants during county fair trade days. While the outdoor life restored his health, Binion never had any formal education. His father, a horse trader, let him accompany him on trips. His parents initially kept him out of school due to poor health. In the 1940s he relocated to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and opened the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.īenny Binion was born and raised in Pilot Grove, Texas, north of Dallas. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a rum-runner, Frank Bolding. Lester Ben Binion (Novem– December 25, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American career criminal who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas- Fort Worth, Texas, area.
