BINION'S CASINO GOES BACK TO BASICS WITH POKER

Filed in archive POKER UPDATE on December 15, 2006

Source:www.celebsunzipped.net



The late Ted Binion would have loved what's happening at the casino he used to own.

Mention the name Ted Binion in Las Vegas, especially to people who have made this town their home for more than just a few years, and you'll have the makings for a conversation that can last for hours.

Ted Binion is a Las Vegas legend whose story is far too lengthy to present here, even in capsulized form but he is now best remembered for events that took place after his death.

Binion was found dead in his home in 1998 under suspicious circumstances which led to a pair of murder trials involving his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her boyfriend, yes, her boyfriend, Rick Tabish, a sometimes Binion friend and employee.

That's all I'm going to say about that aspect of his life but for those of you who want more detail here's a recap of the Binion murder case, and the link to his Wikipedia bio.

I never met Ted, but I have run into many people who did, most of whom worked in his casinos, and not one of them had a bad thing to say about him, and believe me that's rare in Las Vegas.

What Binion, a Poker player first, should be remembered for, and those of you who are Poker fans will become instant fans of the late icon, is that he started the "World Series of Poker" in 1970.

In recent years that tournament has been held elsewhere but now the Binion name is about to reclaim its Poker leadership among Las Vegas casinos.

Not only will Binion's Casino host the top dollar pro poker tournament, the "Ultimate Poker Challenge", it will also be the location for the filming of a new TV series,

"Cash Poker" which starts on December 16th.