Sin City Gangsters is a whirlwind account of how the mob created Las Vegas, building and controlling gambling casinos and buying the favors of influential politicians. The book features such mobsters as Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz, Sam Giancana, Tony Accardo, and Nick Civella, along with their agents and hired guns: Tony Spilotro, Lefty Rosenthal, and Donald Angelini. The casino owners transformed Vegas into an entertainment capital by building billion-dollar-plus resorts and hiring entertainers, such as Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Sin City Gangsters is the only book that charts Vegas from early mob-owned casinos to billion-dollar resorts; its cast of characters were exceedingly ambitious risk takers who created a glittering mecca of sin and pleasure.
Jeffrey Sussman is the author of 19 books, including Backbeat Gangsters (2025), Tinseltown Gangsters (2024), Big Apple Gangsters (2022), and Boxing and the Mob (2019). Jeffrey lives in New York City.
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: Don’t Ever Call Him BugsyChapter 2: Moe Sedway and Gus GreenbaumChapter 3: Meyer Lansky: Godfather of the SkimChapter 4: Moe Dalitz: Mr. Las VegasChapter 5: Jimmy Hoffa: Las Vegas FinancierChapter 6: The Man Who Bought Las VegasChapter 7: The Entertainment Capital of the WorldChapter 8: The Ant, Lefty, & GeniusChapter 9: The Outfit Crapped OutChapter 10: New Faces of Vegas: Sarno, Kerkorian, Wynn, and AdelsonBibliographyIndexAbout the Author
Unlike most books on "the City of Lost Wages," Jeffrey Sussman's Sin City Gangsters really does take us on an impressive journey from the tawdry beginnings of Vegas through to its current almost Disney World iteration. Mr. Sussman's narration is energetic, captivating.
