Prominent gaming attorney Patty Becker likes to remind younger audiences today that Las Vegas’ history with mobsters led to murders before they were run out of town.
Becker, the first woman to serve on the Nevada Gaming Control Board, who now lives in San Diego, told gaming attorneys at a State Bar of Nevada gaming-law conference that she unknowingly sat next to a former casino executive when she was having dinner a decade ago at a restaurant.
It was Allen Glick, a central figure in an infamous organized-crime scandal that rocked the Las Vegas casino industry in the 1970s and was later dramatized in the 1995 movie Casino. Through his Argent Corporation, Glick owned four casinos – the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina – second in number only to the Nevada hotels owned by billionaire Howard Hughes at the time.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board later determined that employees of Argent’s casinos quietly skimmed about $7 million from slot machines from 1974 to 1976 on behalf of Milwaukee, Chicago, Kansas City, and Cleveland crime families with hidden interests in the properties.
“Allen Glick was the only one besides (Frank “Lefty”) Rosenthal who wasn’t killed by the Stardust (casino) group,” Becker said. “Both lived to a ripe old age.”
Becker, who became a deputy attorney general in Nevada in 1979, saw the Tropicana, Aladdin, and Stardust lose their licenses. She was involved in the gaming-license investigation of Frank Sinatra and got to meet him and his wife Barbara at their Las Vegas home. Sinatra, who denied ties to organized crime, was granted a license in 1981 when he became a public relations and entertainment consultant for Caesars Palace.
“I thought it was fascinating when their monsignor showed up at the same time during this little investigation,” Becker said.
Becker is known for arguing some of Nevada’s most prominent Supreme Court gaming cases that set precedents. One was on whether uncollected gaming markers could be deducted from gross gaming revenue. She argued a case on whether someone doing business at a gaming establishment, a dress store in this case, could be required to be licensed. A third was over putting mobster Tony Spilotro in the state’s Black Book of people excluded from casinos. “That was such a fascinating case,” Becker said.
Becker received a call from the chief justice of the Nevada Supreme Court a month before the case was heard, informing her that the media had filed a motion to allow cameras in the courtroom. It was the first time in history cameras were allowed in a Nevada courtroom.
Her boss and attorney general at the time, Richard Bryan, was running for governor in 1982 and let her argue the case, Becker said. She credited her preparation, along with having once served as a law clerk for the Supreme Court, for helping her win.
“I was arguing against Oscar Goodman and there were cameras everywhere,” Becker said. “It was absolutely packed. The legislative session was going and the judiciary committees on both sides watched this hearing, because they might have to promulgate legislation based on how it went. I was nervous, to say the least.”
Becker was asked a question if Spilotro wound up in the Black Book, could he go to a movie theater at the MGM Grand. She responded MGM is not in the movie business in Nevada, but in the gaming business instead, so Spilotro could not go to the theater.
“I was victorious in all three cases,” Becker said. “Then Dick Bryan got elected governor and a day or two later, he called and said he would appoint me to the Gaming Control Board. I was thrilled. I can only say it was the best of times and worst of times, because all hell broke loose. The all-male industry was so apprehensive. A week later, the governor-elect called me and said we have to do something to mitigate this.”
Bryan took her to a UNLV basketball game, the place in Las Vegas to be seen to show his unwavering support. Next, Bryan took her to dinner with casino owner Jack Binion to get the word out in the industry that she was a good appointment. Bryan also had Becker call every major industry player and see them at their offices.
“It was a lot even before I sat as a member of the Gaming Control Board. It was really hard being the first woman; there was so much visibility and so many people wanted you to fail. What really struck me is it took 35 years before another woman was appointed to the Gaming Control Board.
“I think the other women who have come along (on the Gaming Control Board) — Becky Harris and Sandra Douglass Morgan and others —have all had fabulous careers,” Becker said. “It doesn’t mean the men who were appointed weren’t qualified. They all were. They were hard working and deserving. It just shouldn’t have taken that long for another woman to be appointed.”
The founder of Global Gaming Women, Becker said she’s had an amazing career in the casino industry, all because of her appointment to the Board. She started as general counsel for Harrah’s Hotels & Casinos, where she worked for nine years. Currently, she’s a member of the compliance committee for Light & Wonder.
Becker said she helped create Global Gaming Women because it was lonely being the first at everything and didn’t want it to be lonely for women coming up. It’s about support and mentorship.