Sharks in the Desert [Hardcover]

John L. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2005

The story of the evolution of the gambling racket from mobbed-up vice to corporate success story as told through the biographies of the men who made it happen.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books; 1St Edition edition (August 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569802742
• ISBN-13: 978-1569802748
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casino expert Howard Schwartz says, October 13, 2005

By 

Frank (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharks in the Desert (Hardcover)

Sharks' a Fine Vegas History and Biography Combination

by Howard Schwartz
Related Links

Nevada Gambling

Online Casino Games


John Smith, one of Nevada's finest newspaper columnists and authors (the Bob Stupak bio, No Limit Stupak biography and the Steve Wynn bio, Running Scared among others) has penned one of the best biography-history combination books ever with Sharks in the Desert: The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas (400 pages, hardbound, $24.95). His book is a new arrival at Gambler's Book Club. It focuses on those folks who made big money in the casino business, or as the publisher (Lyle Stuart) puts it: "From the made men to the corporate tough guys -- they're all here. Things only appear to have changed. The corporate hard-asses have the same goal as the mobsters who preceded them: to make as much money as possible without regard to who gets destroyed in the progress."

How HAS Las Vegas changed since the early days? Who were the visionaries, the entrepreneurs, those who anticipated what it has become today? Also, what changed the perception of Las Vegas as an "outlaw city," to "a community that prospered because it remained intriguing and was able to constantly reinvent itself"?

From Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel, the Flamingo and El Rancho to the earliest days of the Frontier and Stardust, Smith takes us on a historic trip, focusing on the people, their dreams, what went right, what went wrong and how it all led to the Las Vegas we know today.

It's a journey down memory lane with a cast of characters -- some gunned down, others who became billionaires. Packed with photos, a tremendous index of names and places and facts drawn from more than 100 books and other documents, the book presents Johnny Rosselli, Marshall Caifano, Frank Costello, Ralph Lamb, Tony Spilotro, Frank Rosenthal.

There's much territory to cover and yet Smith does it well. He continues with the roles of Moe Dalitz, Estes Kefauver, Jimmy Hoffa, Sid Wyman, Morris Shenker, Howard Hughes as the century rolled on and times changed.

The book shifts to the downtown area with Jackie Gaughan and Mel Exber, back to the Strip for Bill Bennett and Jay Sarno, Ralph Engelstad and Bob Stupak.

Two of the city's most important people who get plenty of attention are Steve Wynn and Benny Binion. Remember Meshulam Riklis at the Riviera? Smith reminds us, while examining what went right and wrong at the original Aladdin, later at the Tropicana. He focuses on the rapid rise of the Fertitta and Boyd families and their many successes, the visionary William Harrah; then moves to "relative newcomers" Sheldon Adelson, Carl Icahn, the Maloof family, Peter Morton (the Hard Rock), and the sometimes mysterious but respected Kirk Kerkorian.

This is one heck of a book about one heck of a city and as one wise guy once said: "... the place (Las Vegas) remains one thing above all else: Irresistible."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Las Vegas history: from mob to corporate, March 16, 2006

By 

D. Donovan, Editor/Sr. Reviewer "California B... (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharks in the Desert (Hardcover)

The complete saga of Las Vegas from its early roots with the mob to modern corporate times is presented in a lively history of the city's real rulers in SHARKS IN THE DESERT: THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND CURRENT KINGS OF LAS VEGAS. Many made their fortunes developing the casino business the city is most famous for today - but many myths have surrounded their activities - myths which columnist Smith dispels in an investigative history which tracked mobsters and their connections to the city's rich and monied.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It delivers on the title but in a less than thrilling way, October 30, 2006

By 

Lifesamystery (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharks in the Desert (Hardcover)

This book is a fun read if you are someone who is familiar with Las Vegas. The book indeed delivers on what the subtitle, "..The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas" states. Each chapter is more or less devoted to discussing a specific person and the impact they had on setting the stage for the evolution of Las Vegas. I imagine those of you who have never been infatuated with Las Vegas will want to pass on this one.

Based on some of the anecdotes, it seems amazing that some of the Vegas hotels are still open today. The mobsters and the so called "straight laced" owners who ran (or still run) the hotels come off as either extremely brilliant or totally incompetent. It is no wonder that most of the Strip hotels have all been swallowed up by one or two companies. The author also seems to question if some hotels are completely honest when it comes to gaming.

The problem I had with the book was perhaps I was expecting something more chronological and dramatic. Instead, the book is like a compilation of old newpaper columns that are all put together in one place(of course, maybe that is not a surprise since the author is a newspaper reporter). Much like other books of that nature, the reading becomes almost repetitive and seems easier to take over a long haul rather than a week or two of reading cover to cover. Also note that there are a few typos and errors that make it seem like someone did a spellcheck with a computer rather than really proofreading it.

If you can stick with this type of book, you will probably enjoy it. Now this is the first book about Las Vegas I have read so I can not compare it to anything but I've got to believe there is probably something a bit more compelling.