The Jeff Does Vegas Podcast

The history of Las Vegas is jammed full of so many great stories about the mob and their involvement in the city but for this episode of the podcast, we're going in-depth on one that you might be be very familiar with.

Originally hailing from a small town in Texas that doesn't even exist anymore, Benny Binion rose to become a kingpin of the Las Vegas casino scene, creating a legacy that's lasted well beyond his death in the late 1980's.

Joining me to share Binion's story is Geoff Schumacher, Vice President of Exhibits & Programs at The Mob Museum in Downtown Las Vegas.  Geoff and I talked about what got Benny into gambling & organized crime, what prompted his move to Las Vegas from Dallas, the unique trends Benny set in the casino business, and how the Binion name lives on in Las Vegas today.

To learn more about Benny Binion & his legacy, pick up a copy of Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion by Doug J. Swanson or I'll Do My Own Damn Killin' by Gary Sleeper.  You can also pay a visit to The Mob Museum and find out all about Benny Binion and the other famous (and infamous) people who helped to shape Las Vegas.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

I generally try to keep things pretty light on the podcast and stay away from topics that some might consider "serious" or "controversial", but if I spot an issue that I think my listeners need to know about, I go for it.  So, heads up...this might not be the Jeff Does Vegas that you're used to.

Human Trafficking is a massive problem around the world, and especially in Las Vegas; it might not come as much of a surprise to some people that Vegas has the 4th-highest rate of trafficking in the United States ranking behind Orlando, Atlanta and Washington D.C..

I wanted to take a dive into the issue, get to the root of the problem, and find out what's behind this high rate of human trafficking as well as but some of the myths & misconceptions surrounding it - and I think you might be very shocked by what you're about to hear.

To help me out with this topic, I reached out to a Las Vegas organization called The Cupcake Girls and my guest for this episode of the podcast is Amy-Marie Merrell, their Executive Director.

Amy & I discussed the work that The Cupcake Girls does with victims of human trafficking & sex trafficking as well as those working in the sex industry who are consensual sex workers, Amy shared some shocking facts about who's being trafficked and by whom they are being trafficked, and we talked about some of the legal changes Amy would like to see happen to better support & protect victims of trafficking.

If you want to learn more about The Cupcake Girls, support the work they're doing, or find the resources needed to get assistance, visit their website at TheCupcakeGirls.org.  You can also follow them Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

I make no secret about the fact that I absolutely LOVE food.

In fact, as anyone who listens to the podcast on a regular basis knows, when I put together my "Trip Report" episodes, I always mention that that being able to tell people about the meals I've enjoyed in Las Vegas is probably my favorite part of the trip.

So, when I was presented with the opportunity to chat with a Las Vegas-based chef who took her passion for cooking and turned it into a career, I jumped at that chance.

My guest for this episode of the podcast is Chef Alicia Shevetone.  Chef Alicia is a pop-up chef who regularly hosts events across the city, she's authored cookbooks, she makes appearances on local Vegas television, and she hosts her own online cooking show.  She's also the creator of Dink Cuisine, a unique cooking concept for a very specific demographic.

Learn all about Chef Alicia, find out about Dink Cuisine, see where she'll be appearing and get your hands on her cookbooks by visiting Chef Alicia's website.  Also, make sure follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Pre-order your copy of Chef Alicia's new cookbook, "Food With Spirit: Alcohol Infused Recipes" on Amazon. 

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Las Vegas bills itself as "the Entertainment Capital of the World" and it's easy to see why with all the big names performing up & down the Strip on a nightly basis...and it's been that way for decades.  But how did that all come to be...and what role did the world of organized crime play in making it happen?

My guest for this episode of the podcast is here to help clear things up for us.

Making her second appearance on the podcast is Claire White, the Director of Education for the Mob Museum in Downtown Las Vegas.  Last time Claire was on the show, we went in-depth on Liberace & the impact he had on the Vegas entertainment scene.  We briefly touched on the topic of the mob and their place in Las Vegas's entertainment history, but I thought it might be fun to get Claire back to go into a little more detail.

We discussed the early days of Las Vegas entertainment, the Mob's role in helping to build up the industry in Las Vegas, and some of the prominent performers with alleged mob ties.

If you want to learn more about the history of Las Vegas & the role of the mob in establishing the entertainment industry, pick up a copy of Bright Light City: Las Vegas in Popular Culture by Larry Gragg. And be sure to pay a visit to the Mob Museum on your next trip to Las Vegas.  Visit their website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube!

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

After becoming the first ever magician to win America's Got Talent back in 2014, Mat Franco hit the Vegas strip with his show, Magic Reinvented Nightly at The Linq where he's been performing for almost 8 years.

On my last trip to Las Vegas, I had a chance to sit down backstage with Mat for a conversation.  We talked about what got him into magic & his family's support through his career, his AGT experience, the recent re-vamp of his Vegas show, and much more!

For tickets & showtimes, you can visit MatFranco.com and be sure to follow Mat on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

__________________________________________________________________________

Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

In years past, the Las Vegas Strip was jammed full of a combination of large-scale production shows and mid-level headliners with the odd big-time residency tossed into the mix.  And of course, there were also the casino lounges, packed full of people while Vegas's finest singers & musicians performed live.

But as you may have heard me talk about in past episodes - or even noticed on your own Vegas trips - the Strip has gone through a big shift when it comes to entertainment.

The large-scale productions are struggling, the mid-level shows have moved off the strip (or closed entirely), the casino lounges have gone silent & been replaced with sports books or high roller rooms, and Las Vegas Boulevard is littered with marquees touting high-priced monthly residencies from huge artists at almost every resort.

But what's behind this evolution?  To get the answer, I went to an insider...

Vincent John from The Bronx Wanderers, who've been caught up in all these changes over the last few years, makes his THIRD appearance on the podcast.

Vincent and I have had a lot of "offline" discussions about the state of Vegas entertainment, but we thought it was time for him to come on the show and have a conversation "on the record".

You can catch Vincent John & The Bronx Wanderers LIVE in Vegas or out on tour across the US.  Check their schedule and get your tickets NOW!

Listen to Vincent's solo work, streaming wherever you get your music including Apple Music and Spotify.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

It's time for another World Famous Jeff Does Vegas Trip Report!

This time around, we're re-capping my most recent trip to Vegas, from March 4-11, 2023.  This was trip #2 of 2023 and was easily one of the busiest trips to Las Vegas that I've ever had!

I combined work and play for this trip; my wife joined me for a mini-vacation for the first few days of the trip, then I attended the Podcast Movement Evolutions conference at the Westgate Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for the last half of the trip.

Take a listen for reviews of my hotel experience at Luxor Las Vegas, our amazing meal at Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio, the time we spent seeing Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly at the Linq, and much more!  I've also got tips & tricks for anyone planning on attending a conference/convention in Las Vegas, as well as some thoughts & opinions about what's happening in the city.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

The very first ever WrestleMania was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 31st, 1985.  The brainchild of WWF owner Vince McMahon, WrestleMania played host to roughly 19,000 people at the Garden and was seen across the United States by over 1 million people via closed-circuit television.  At the time, it was the largest pay-per-view wrestling event ever.

In the years following, Wrestlemania would become the most successful and longest-running pro wrestling event in history, even setting several attendance records with crowds of over 100,000 people cramming stadiums to watch the show.

But that doesn't mean it was all good...which brings us to this episode of the podcast.

In 1993, 9 years after that first WrestleMania, the WWF (now WWE) decided to try their luck at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with what was planned to be the most opulent WrestleMania ever.  There were elephants, camels, Roman Gladiators, chariots, and even an appearance by Cleopatra & Julius Caesar.

Despite all of that, WrestleMania IX is often regarded as "the worst WrestleMania of all time" and my guest is here to help break down all the reasons why.

Mark Hoke is the host of The Mark Hoke Show, the number 1 rated Pro Wrestling radio show in Las Vegas.

As WrestleMania IX gets set to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Mark and I went in-depth discussing the event; everything from the choice of venue to Bobby "The Brain" Heenan's memorable entrance to the politics behind the controversial ending.

You can listen to The Mark Hoke Show live Sunday mornings at 8am PT on Las Vegas's KDWN 101.5 FM and online via the Audacy app, or listen when you want wherever you get your podcasts.

Also, be sure to follow Mark on Facebook & Twitter for all the latest from the world of pro wrestling.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

One of the most serene spots along Las Vegas Boulevard also happens to be home to one of the biggest spectacles in the city's history:

That would be the fountains at Caesars Palace - and the attempt to jump over those fountains on a motorcycle by the legendary Evel Knievel!

During my last trip to Las Vegas, I caught up with Joe Friday from the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas.  Joe was attending the same conference I was, as he's prepping to release a brand-new podcast all about the incredible story of Evel Knievel.

Joe and I talked about Evel's early life and how he got into stunt riding, how Evel "conned" his way into jumping the fountains at Caesars, his career following the jump, and much more.

Joe also shared some very cool Evel Knievel/Las Vegas news with me.

If you want to learn more about the history of Evel Knievel, you can visit the Evel Knievel Museum online and be sure to follow the museum on Facebook and Instragram.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Spiegelworld's Atomic Saloon Show is easily one of the best shows - if not THE BEST show - currently running on the Vegas Strip...and I'm very happy to be joined for this episode of the podcast by one of the incredibly talented cast members.

On my most recent trip to Las Vegas, I headed out to the super-secret Spiegelworld HQ for a chat with Petra Massey, better known as Boozy Skunkton, the proprietor of the Atomic Saloon & Brothel who also serves as the MC for the show.

Petra and I chatted about what got her into performing, her career before joining Spiegelworld, the early days workshopping Atomic Saloon, and much more!

Atomic Saloon runs 5 nights a week (2 shows each night) inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.  Visit the Spiegelworld website to get your tickets and be sure to follow Atomic Saloon on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Become a Jeff Does Vegas Insider today for only $5 USD/month & enjoy all kinds of cool perks like early access to new episodes, commercial-free versions of EVERY episode, invites to exclusive live streams & videos, insider-only virtual hangouts and even real-life in-person hangouts IN Las Vegas!

Sign up NOW at patreon.com/jeffdoesvegas

__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate! 

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!