The Great Stardust Skim by Stephen Fischer This is such a wonderful American success story. In 1976 the president of the Stardust Hotel was 34-year old Allan Glick. Seemingly out of nowhere, this nice clean-cut young man and head of the ARGENT Corporation secured a Teamsters loan for about $146 million that enabled him to take over the Stardust Hotel and Casino. The ARGENT name was an abbreviation of Allan R. Glick Enterprises. The timing on this loan was very important. By 1976, many of the Las Vegas casino “cash cows” the Mob throughout the country depended on were beginning to dry up. Stardust 1975 Between the Federal Government How much more profitable would Then the hotel owner could find a and the state of Nevada, it was it be if the US Government and nice corner on a hot-looking craps becoming more and more difficult for Nevada State Revenue people just table, call Tony D., the pit boss there a mobster to make a decent living. didn’t know how much money the at craps pit 3, have Tony D. bring him The Chicago Outfit still had control Stardust and the other hotels had a marker for “10 large,” and get over the Stardust, Marina, Fremont actually made? (“Wow! What a good $10,000 in chips. He’d play a few and Hacienda, but it became neces- idea! That way, we could get to keep minutes, lose a couple of thousand, sary to increase the size of the skim a lot more money, right boss?”) scoop up the remaining 8 G’s in to make up for other lost business. chips, take them over to the cashier In the old days in Las Vegas this and cash out. Let’s take a moment to discuss the was pretty easy to do. A casino owner meaning of the word “skim”. It isn’t could wander into the “soft count When his signed marker arrived in stealing in the usual sense. It isn’t room” where the bills were counted, the accounting department, his girl- taking money that belongs to some- take a few handfuls of the big ones, friend, Lola, would take the $10,000 one else. Skimming is hiding money put them in his pocket and then go marker and put it in her pocket. from Uncle Sam. Every time a dollar have a cup of coffee and a Danish.. (“Honest, she’s not my girlfriend, would come into the casino, it had to Who was going to stop him? He sweetheart, I hardly know the be reported to the government. So at owned the place. This was his money. woman”). And that was that. No the end of the year, when the Stardust He wasn’t stealing. He just wanted to marker means no money owed the would do its 1040-EZ or whichever take a few thousand bucks as “walk- casino, right? It’s his money anyway, form they used, they would have to ing around money.” What Uncle Sam right? Who is he stealing from – him- pay income tax on every penny the doesn’t know ain’t gonna’ hurt him, self? casino took in. 90 CASINO CHIP AND TOKEN NEWS | Summer 2005 Believe it or not, this very simple and shot him six times in the mouth, method of taking a few million dol- Joey Aiuppa became capo of the lars out of the Las Vegas hotels would Chicago Outfit. work, year after year after year. Then the Nevada Tax and the Gaming No such things as a “honeymoon Commission boys set down some period” for Joey Aiuppa either. The rules. Damn spoilsports Feds and the Nevada State Gaming Commission, who were both develop- Rule Number 1 – An owner is ing real power in Nevada, were never allowed in a counting room. beginning to make daily visits and Rule Number 2 – An owner is never phone calls to Aiuppa. It seems all allowed to play at his own hotel. they wanted to talk about was the Rule Number 3 – All money that Stardust. The question of real owner- comes into a casino. I reiterate, ship of the Stardust, which had been 100% of the money, has to be report- hidden for many years, was beginning ed as income. to bubble to the surface. The US Government trained its At the same time, Allan Glick, eyes on the casino business through who had just turned 32, was begin- the Organized Crime Commission, ning to make quite a few bucks at the the Kefauver Committee and, later, Hacienda. He decided he wanted to Allan Glick the Church Committee. Despite all make even more money if he could only figure out a way to do it. Talk the Fed’s money spent on all the in Cleveland, and to Frank Balistieri about a fortuitous set of circum- investigations of the Las Vegas hotels of the Milwaukee Mafia. Both stances. Here were the owners of the and their owners, the only thing they Cleveland and Milwaukee in the mid- Stardust being told to get out or lose could get the owners on was good old 1970s were subsidiaries of the their license, and here was Allan tax evasion. Skimming money means Chicago Outfit, which was run by Glick, a nice, clean cut young man, taking money from the pot before Joey Aiuppa. Uncle Sam has a chance to count it who wanted desperately to get into the big time. and tell you how much tax you owe Right up until June 19, 1975 Sam on it. If the money can’t be accounted “Momo” Giancana had run Chicago. So Allan let it be known all over for, it can’t be taxed, plain and simple. However, Momo wasn’t the best of Las Vegas that he wanted to buy the bosses of the Chicago Outfit. He was Stardust. His big problem was that he The Chicago Outfit was faced with very high visibility, with his flamboy- didn’t have the money to buy it. But a cash flow problem. The answer pre- ant personality, and his highly publi- he let it be known, “If anyone wants sented itself in the Stardust, and Allan cized affair with Phyllis McGuire. Glick. Nice, clean-cut Allan Glick to lend me the $100 million dollars to buy it, I wouldn’t say no.” and his partner, Gene Frisch, were Then there was his friendship with both young men who were making a Frank Sinatra, and with Judy So one day, Alan got a phone call pretty fair living owning the Campbell, and with the Rat Pack … at his Hacienda office from Del Hacienda. Everything was above he was just too visible for the old Coleman, the largest stockholder in board and going along well until a school dons. On top of everything the RECRION Corporation. Coleman, company called RECRION, that then else, their money stream, Las Vegas, besides his RECRION affiliation, was owned the Stardust, got into trouble. became delivering less and less also the unofficial representative of money. Enough was enough. Without going into the personali- the Teamsters Union and the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas. That meant ties of RECRION, the company was In the basement of his Oak Park, watched over their business affairs. being forced to sell the Stardust. Illinois mansion, Momo made himself Del Coleman said, “Allan, we got There was some silliness about a before bedtime snack of Italian somebody you should meet,” and money from the Stardust Hotel find- sausage and peppers … and he died. Allan was introduced to the boss of ing its way on a weekly basis to Joey After his snack, at the top of the the Milwaukee Mob, Frank Balistieri. Aiuppa of the Chicago Outfit, Moshe stairs, a gunman was waiting for him, Rockman of the Mayfield Road Gang CASINO CHIP AND TOKEN NEWS | Summer 2005 91 Balistieri said he could help Glick get the four hotels. He packed his bags a loan. A friend of his was an official and moved from the Hacienda to the at the Teamsters Central States Presidents Suite at the Stardust. On Pension Fund. Sam Giancana had his first day at his new job, Glick called Balistieri and told him to help hired bookmaker-dealmaker-odds- Glick get the money he needed to buy maker Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal to be the Stardust. his assistant at a salary of “250 large,” Two Hundred & Fifty Thou A Then Glick starting getting calls Year! from some of the other Mob families, all wanting to be helpful to Glick in That same day, Lefty replaced getting the Stardust loan. One call Bobby Strella, who was a pretty good came from Kansas City. Glick was casino boss at the Stardust, with a told the caller knew another Central fella’ whose previous job experience States Teamsters official who could was owner-operator of the gift shop at help arrange the loan. Then more Circus Circus, which he purchased for calls came into Allan Glick’s office peanuts. The gift shop at Circus from very well-connected and very Circus was given as a favor to one of friendly men from Cleveland and Momo Giancana’s friends from Chicago. And believe it or not, just Chicago at a “friends and family” Frank Rosenthal like in the movies, the money started price of $70,000. It was worth over coming in. $2 Million. It was purchased by known associate of the Mob and had Momo’s friend Tony. a conviction on his police record for Before long, our hero, Allan Glick, fixing a basketball game some years had enough money to buy the When Tony was at Circus Circus, earlier.