Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel, Downtown casino and hotel in Las Vegas, United States
Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel occupies the merged Eldorado Club and Hotel Apache on Fremont Street, where a tall sign stacks green neon bars spelling HORSESHOE beside a bulb grid reading BINION'S CASINO CLUB. The casino floor keeps a frontier riverboat look with low ceilings and velvet wallpaper. The former 366-room hotel tower closed in 2009; 81 rooms reopened in July 2019 as Hotel Apache.
Benny Binion combined the Eldorado Club and the Hotel Apache in 1951 to open Binion's Horseshoe. It was the first downtown Las Vegas casino to lay carpet over sawdust floors and to give comps to every gambler, not only high rollers. Binion set a $500 craps limit, ten times the local norm, later reaching $10,000 and at times no limit at all. Convicted of tax evasion, he sold a majority share to Joe W. Brown, who installed the $1 million display, and regained control in 1964.
Jack Binion began hosting the World Series of Poker here in 1970; the Horseshoe remained its home until Harrah's Entertainment kept the WSOP rights when it sold the casino in 2004. The casino also hosted Archie Karas's "The Run," a winning streak in the 1990s.
The casino operates 24 hours a day, year-round, providing access to gaming tables, restaurants, and hotel rooms. Keep in mind that this place gets crowded and loud, especially during major poker tournaments and weekend evenings.
The Million Dollar Display was first installed by Joe W. Brown, the caretaker owner, and sold in 1959; Benny Binion recreated it in 1964 with 100 $10,000 bills. The family later sold those bills for $112,500 to $188,000 each, and the display was removed under Becky Behnen and sold to collector Jay Parrino.
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