Last Good Time [Paperback]

Jonathan Van Meter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2003

Paul 'Skinny' D'Amato was perhaps the most important man in the history of Atlantic City, where his world-famous 500 Club served as the ultimate backroom for the players of entertainment, politics, sports and the Mob. Skinny was not part of the Rat Pack, but he was its mentor. It was Skinny who taught Frank Sinatra the coolest way to hold a cigarette, tip big and play with the big boys. Skinny was the ultimate connected guy, a passionate gambler who had a special touch that brought people together, but with wealth and power there was also tragedy - fires, mental illness, bankruptcy, death and murder. The Last Good Time is a classic story of the whisky-soaked dark side of America and a portrait of a self-made man.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Van Meter delivers a wonderful narrative-a biography, really-of one of the most controversial cities in the U.S., the nightclub and gambling mecca of Atlantic City. Beginning with the city's founding in the 1850s as a resort for Philadelphians, Van Meter reconstructs the foundation of greed, corruption, crime and, most important, entertainment on which Atlantic City was built. All the characters are there, including Atlantic City's first openly corrupt politician, Nucky Johnson. But entrepreneur Paul "Skinny" D'Amato gets most of Van Meter's attention. A grade-school dropout, D'Amato worked his way up from operator of a smalltime, illegal gambling den (the first legal casino opened in 1978) to owner and operator of the 500 Club, the soon-to-be world-famous nightclub and haven for mobsters. Van Meter carefully details how the charming and clever D'Amato and his 500 Club were the reason for the success of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, as well how they assisted Frank Sinatra to bounce back into the public eye. Van Meter expands the narrative to cover D'Amato's friendship with Sinatra and mob boss Sam Giancana and their involvement with the Cal-Neva Resort, as well as their collusion in helping get John F. Kennedy into office. Van Meter also convincingly argues that despite D'Amato's acquaintance with the likes of Giancana and Lucky Luciano, D'Amato himself was neither a member of nor beholden to the mob. If there is one fault with the book, it is that Van Meter, who writes for Vanity Fair, Vogue and Esquire, often relies on punchy, detail-laden magazine style. But this is a minor quibble in an otherwise riveting glimpse into the throbbing heart of Atlantic City.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

The genial Atlantic City impresario Paul (Skinny) D'Amato makes frequent appearances in accounts of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack and of the postwar heyday of the Cosa Nostra. His famous 500 Club, a night club and illegal gambling den, was a favorite Sinatra hangout from the nineteen-forties onward, and his friendships with gangsters such as Sam Giancana and Angelo Bruno were a source of perennial fascination to the F.B.I. But, placed front and center, as he is in this book, D'Amato himself proves disappointing. He clearly had moxie, charm, and diplomacy, and yet, perhaps because of these very qualities, his character remains elusive. Van Meter is enthralled by Atlantic City lore, and is at his best when he uses Skinny as an excuse to explore Prohibition-era corruption under the flamboyant South Jersey fixer Nucky Johnson, or the maneuverings of casino entrepreneurs in the nineteen-seventies to legalize gambling. One wishes he had written a more general history, giving more time to D'Amato's equally colorful confederates.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (June 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747568650
• ISBN-13: 978-0747568650
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jonathan rolls a 7., June 26, 2007

By 

Tom West "Tom" (J.T., PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Good Time (Paperback)

The new and the old Atlantic City!

A fast read from the days of the old Steel Pier right up to the Resort Casinos that line the Boardwalk today.

Van Meter starts this journey as he arrives in town to work at Atlantic City Magazine. He gets word about a "sale" at the home of the late Paul "Skinny" D'Amato, the owner of the famous "500 Club." This is 1986 and Atlantic City is now a gambling mecca.

Van Meter quickly becomes enthralled with D'Amato and the history of the city and figures he's a got a pretty good book on his hands. He's right!

The Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin/Marilyn Monore/ Mob connections drive the narrative and the reader gets caught up in their world. Van Meter keeps the pace with the rich and famous and their connection to D'Amato rolling along, and you get to go for the ride.

Damn good ride! All 296 pages of it. Recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT TIME, August 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Good Time: Skinny D'Amato, the Notorious 500 Club, & the Rise and Fall of Atlantic City (Hardcover)

Jonathan Van Meter's book is a COMPELLING story,
rich with Atlantic City history, about a man and
a time gone by. I am not old enough to have ex-
perienced that time, but Van Meter's words
catapulted me into an era that seemed thrilling.
I highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A time to be missed, July 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Good Time: Skinny D'Amato, the Notorious 500 Club, & the Rise and Fall of Atlantic City (Hardcover)

As often I am call "old school" it was new and refreshing for me to read of the old Atlantic City. I thought Jon Van Meter brought back to life a time that has been dead far too long. I would strongly recomend it to anyone who loves the golden area in American history.