Say I’m hopelessly out of style. Anyone who takes a look at my clothes can see that.
Remind me that times and technologies have changed, that the casino business has evolved into a super-sophisticated industry brimming wth MBAs and corporate polish. I get it.
But just for a few minutes, let me reminisce about four pals who helped shape my Las Vegas frame of reference: Gene Kilroy, Dan Chandler, Allan Hirschorn, and Vic Vickrey.
The casino industry knew them as casino hosts, but at times I think their ability to tell stories and add a little color and humor to the daily grind were their strongest qualities.
Three are gone, and if prompted Kilroy will admit he’s entering life’s late innings. As ever, he does so without a complaint about time’s aches and pains.
Although Gene will always be known as “the Facilitator” for his many years managing Muhammad Ali’s business, Kilroy carved out a long career in casino marketing at many casinos. Take a few minutes, and he’ll gladly tell you about the golden age of boxing — not just for the fighters, but for the writers as well. Gene was a longtime friend of the novelist and screenwriting legend Budd Schulberg. (“What Makes Sammy Run?”, “The Harder They Fall”, “A Face in the Crowd,” and “Waterfront.”)
His long association with the Kennedy family would fill volumes, and he catered to some of the biggest players in Las Vegas history. Gene’s Rolodex ought to be in the Smithsonian.
Allan Hirschorn was an adopted orphan who began his long Las Vegas career as a bar boy at the Fremont. He dealt for a short time, but found he was better at customer relations than beating them at blackjack.
Not many hosts can say they catered to the exiled Shah of Iran and the financial scammer Robert Vesco. But Allan seemed to get along with everyone. He called himself a “pure host” who sweated every detail but the players’ bankroll.
After many years as a host in the Bahamas, he moved back to Las Vegas and worked late in his career for Terry Lanni and Steve Wynn. Allan died in 2015.
Vickrey was a poor boy, born in Picayune, Miss., who gravitated toward cards and dice at an early age. He made a name for himself as a marketing specialist in Texas and much of the South. Vic was present at the inception of what eventually became known as the World Series of Poker. He managed to succeed whether behind the tables or playing the gracious host without ever losing the common touch. He died in 2009.
Then there’s the most loquacious of the bunch, “Dan the Man” Chandler. Kentucky political legend and Major League Baseball Commissioner Albert “Happy” Chandler’s wayward son was the subject of my 2006 book “Bluegrass Days and Neon Nights,” a PG version of his wild life.
Dan could wax nostalgic about his daddy one minute, then tell authentic tales about playing host to the high-rolling and highly suspect Chagra brothers. Jamiel “Jimmy” Chagra went down in history as one of America’s most prolific and notorious drug smugglers.
“Here’s the ironic thing about Jimmy Chagra and the law,” Dan observed in “Bluegrass Days and Neon Nights.” “If the government had been wise, it might have saved itself a ton of trouble prosecuting Chagra if it had instead just let him stay in Las Vegas for a few straight months. He lost so much money at the tables and on the golf course that he’d have gone bankrupt.”
Dan once ran for Congress, and lost. He made the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, but didn’t play much. (He also made the baseball team at Kentucky.)
Dan once had a namesake horse in the field at the Kentucky Derby named Danthebluegrassman. In keeping with Dan’s luck, the horse was a late scratch.
At last count, Chandler was hired and fired at Caesars Palace at least six times. Dan generated plenty of business, but he specialized in comps and insubordination.
“My inability to get along with Caesars Palace presidents is legendary,” Chandler once said in a rare moment of understatement.
After big Dan died just before the Kentucky Derby in 2004, I had hoped Caesars would hire and fire him just once more for old time’s sake.
I’ve always been a sucker for a good story, and those four were some of the casino industry’s greatest storytellers.
Thousands of thoroughly entertained casino customers would no doubt agree.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Contact him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith.
