Quicksilver: The Ted Binion Murder Case [Paperback]

John L. Smith (Author), John L. Smith (Author), Jeff Scheid (Author)

Book Description

Series: True Crime | Publication Date: February 2001

It was Las Vegas' crime of the century. Lonnie 'Ted' Binion, ne'er-do-well son of the famed casino owner Benny Binion, was found dead in his home September 19, 1998. Some claimed overdose, others speculated suicide, investigators said murder. Ted's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and her lover Rick Tabish were charged with Binion's murder and the show began. Follow the most riveting courtroom drama in Las Vegas history, presented pictorially, with over 200 images by award-winning photographer Jeff Scheid.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Schied, a native of Terry Montana, located about 150 miles southeast of the Binion Ranch, has worked as a photographer forthe Las Vegas Review journal for the past 20 years. Scheid has covered most major news, entertainment, and sporting events for the newspaper. When not photographing Las Vegas, he and his wife write travel stories for the review journal and lasvegas.com

John L. Smith
a fourth generation Nevadan, is an award- winning columnist for the Las Vegas Review- Journal and the author of several acclaimed books, including No Limit, the Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vagas' Stratosphere Tower. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife and daughter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Huntington Press; 1st edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929712285
• ISBN-13: 978-0929712284
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Work...Could Be Better, April 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Quicksilver: The Ted Binion Murder Case (Paperback)

Smith does an excellent job of providing a concise summary of the events that lead to the Binion trial, the most notorious criminal trial in Las Vegas'colorful history.

However, he falls short in providing insight not already avilable in the archives of this story appearing elsewhere on the World Wide Web. In addition, character and event analysis fall woefully short of expectations, especially those of us familiar with Smith's other works.

You will enjoy this book if you are vaguely familiar with the trial,and want details. If, however, you know a lot about this case already, you will be disappointed.

The author does categorically and persuasively state his opinion of this case, which may take some of you by surprise. Sadly, that is the only major new revalation of this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great subject, bad book........, August 2, 2003

By 

M. Bell (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quicksilver: The Ted Binion Murder Case (Paperback)

Ted Binion was a modern-day swashbuckler. Part owner of the Las Vegas Casino--- 'Binion's Horseshoe', he lived much larger than life. That is until he was (most likely) murdered by his beautiful live-in girlfriend Sandy Murphy and her conspiring lover Rick Tabish. Both are now doing bids of 20 to life pending a possible reopening of their case. Unfortunately, the above book doesn't do his tantalizing story justice. His is a cautionary tale about heroine addiction, immense wealth, fast women and shady characters. It includes buried treasure, hard partying and other vices that make eccentric people like him endlessly fascinating. This book however is too short, and honestly reads like what it is--- a compilation of newspaper articles put together by two journalists desperate to quickly cash in on a legend. For all appearances (too many pictures & not enough prose) it looks and reads like something thrown together on the way over to the local Kinko's Copies! It's truly unfortunate because there's enough intrigue in Ted Binion's life and controversial death for a book ten times the size of this one.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SO MUCH IS MISSING! BETTER THAN THE SCOTT BOOK..., April 1, 2001

By 

deedee42 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quicksilver: The Ted Binion Murder Case (Paperback)

After reading this book I feel it was RUSHED, and so much of the powerful 'inside' information was left out. I did enjoy the pictures, many not seen before. The story seems to leave out so much of the mystery involved, but is much better than the other book I read. The death of Lonnie 'Ted' Binion was something most people expected - he used and abused Heroin for 20 years, he was 'friendly' with the mob, he was entangled in a family that epitomizes DYSFUNCTIONAL. His father, Benny was one step ahead of the law when he left Texas to begin what ended up an empire his children fought over constantly. Ted was born into Las Vegas royalty, which afforded him every opportunity in life. But it came with a price. When he was younger, he was almost kidnapped. The plot was uncovered and those planning it were dealt with Benny Binion style. When Benny died, Jack and Ted were the 'Big Boys' at the HORSESHOE CASINO, and continued to operate the way Pappa B had in the past. The Gaming Commission was not happy that Ted was at the helm of the casino and didn't play by the rules. The was arrested in 1987, and this paved the way for Teddy's removal from the casino, which thrilled his sister Becky Behnen. She sued brother Jack for control and won. Ted felt he could return, but after continuing his pattern of not following the rules, the Gaming Commission removed him in March of 1998. When Becky took control of the casino, Ted had to remove his SILVER stash from the casino vault and had it placed in a vault on his ranch. Tons and tons of silver were placed in an underground vault that he had hired Rick Tabish to install. His girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, was there with Ted during his battles with drugs and the casino business. She was there when Ted's friend, 'Fat Herbie' Blitzstein was murdered and the FBI warned Ted of a 'hit' that had been placed on him as well. Who placed the hit? Did it have anything to do with Ted backing out of a promise to pay $50,000.00 to have his sister Becky 'whacked'? Who shot at Ted's house in 1997? Why was his sister and nephew dining with the person charged with the shooting after Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish were safely tucked out of the way in prison? Why wasn't ALL the information regarding Ted's life, Sandy's whereabouts, and Rick's lunch appointment on the day Ted died? What caused the attorneys to keep exculpatory evidence out of the trial? What exactly did Ted Binion die from on that day in September, 1998. Why wasn't the man who sold the 12 balloons of Mexican Black Tar Heroin ever indicted? We have the Prosecutor's own 'experts' disagreeing on what killed Ted. Was it the heroin he smoked? Was it the Xanax he asked his neighbor, described as Dr. Feelgood at trial, to call in and Ted himself picked up at the pharmacy? If the mixture of both these drugs didn't kill him what did? How can you prove murder when the victim himself purchased the 'deadly mixture'? You come up with "forced ingestion" and then add 'Burking' by Dr. Michael Baden. Proof of murder? Proof that the family money paid to have someone other than Ted Binion take the fall. It didn't matter that another sister had killed herself a few years back, that Ted had lost his license to run the family casino, even admitted that he was deeply depressed at the loss of his beloved Gaming license...it had to be ruled murder in order to keep Sandy Murphy's hands off of what Ted had left her in his will. Where was Rick Tabish going with the silver he dug up? Who else was supposed to take care of the silver? What attorney was in charge of this SILVER STASH? Whay did Ted keep the silver in a vault on his ranch? Why couldn't he use a bank? Was it due to the RICO charges he might be facing? Ted Binion will be remembered not by what he did in his life, but his death. What a sad story he was.