When the Mob Ran Vegas: Stories of Money, Mayhem and Murder

I loved this book because it is not pretentious, like some non-fiction books can be. It's like listening to your grandpa recall his younger days and tell you stories. The writer has a good sense of writing facts and keeping it interesting with detail in a way that is fun to read and keeps your interest. His passion for old Vegas and the Mob/mob history is conveyed in every part and it really was amazing to read some of these stories. I truly enjoyed it and if you're interested in the Mob and Vegas history, this is a great book about a guy who got started writing from his eBay listings :)

I originally purchased this book in its trade paperback version and gave it to my son, who has lived in Las Vegas for the past twenty years. On a recent visit, I picked it up and started reading, as they keep it in their guest bedroom. I read a chapter and said to myself "Hey, I want this on my Kindle." So I purchased the Kindle edition and read the whole thing once again, cover to index. This writer really knows Vegas and its history. To appreciate Las Vegas today, you need to understand its past. I strongly recommend this book.

Las Vegas is a subject that has always fascinated me, and I have read quite a bit of the available books. Steve Fischer concentrates on the ties between early Vegas and the Mafia. Without the Mafia, there never would have been a Las Vegas.=== The Good Stuff ===* A book like this is only as good as the research that goes into it. I found quite a bit of the material in the book to agree with what I had read elsewhere, although there was some material that was new to me. Some of that material seems more believable than other parts, but that is probably the nature of the beast. It is not as if you can go to the Stardust archive at the Sam Giancana Library and read the file.* Fischer gives a reasonably comprehensive overview of the history of early Las Vegas. He takes us through the conception, financing, construction and operations of many of the early hotel/casinos, and gives us an introduction to the management teams.=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===* Some of the fact checking was a little suspect. I realize the nature of Las Vegas mob stories makes for difficult research, but there were at least a few instances where the book disagrees with published material. For example, Fischer describes how Robert Maheu would greet his boss, Howard Hughes, at a Las Vegas train station. Just about all published sources, including Maheu's own writing, indicate that the two men never met. A small detail? Maybe, but one that is generally well known to Las Vegas fans.* Fischer writes in a very informal style, with plenty of parenthetical expressions, interjections, and commentary built in. Normally I don't mind this, but at times he gets a bit carried away and it becomes distracting. Also his writing style occasionally lapses into groups of short, choppy sentences which I find annoying to read.* Parts of the book, especially the end, are nothing more than the Author's recollections of his earlier experiences at several hotels. These were somewhat interesting, but really didn't go well with the rest of the book.=== Summary ===The book was OK, but I was not enamored with it. It was a nice collection of stories, however some did not seem particularly well verified or checked against existing published accounts. If you are a real Vegas fan, the book is worth the couple hours it took to read because it has some unique information. But if you are only going to read one or two books on the subject, there are better books out there.

Personally, I loved this book. But that's because as a kid, my parents took me to Vegas every summer and we stayed at the Sands Hotel. What great memories I have about that fabulous place! Apparently, the author had the same great memories, only he was an adult. This book is filled with many great stories and interesting characters. However, the author does repeat himself quite often and I'd imagine if you didn't stay at the Sands, you will not get the full enjoyment of the book. Thanks for the memories, Steve.

Being a resident of Vegas and having an interest in the old gangsters, I was looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, it comes up short. There's a few interesting stories in there but a lot of the material has nothing to do with the mob. Such as the part where he talks about his aunt and uncle's vacation, or the time he met Sammy Davis Jr. He uses big print and paragraphs, making the book a pretty fast read. I agree with the others who said that the author has no sense when it comes to writing in chronological order. He'll talk about the 50's, the 60's and then go back to the 50's again. And there are multiple instances where he repeats himself not even 5 pages later. I did find some of the old photographs interesting, but I will look elsewhere for gangster-related books.

A collection of stories from the mafia-ridden days of Las Vegas, told by a man who must have vacationed here during the tail end of it. Being a Las Vegas resident I was initially intrigued by this, and had to have it. I suppose I can sum it up like this: content good, delivery not so much. The stories are written in a very pedestrian style, with little proof reading done to catch typo's and grammar errors. The last chapter of the book digresses into the author's sentimentality over the loss of the Sands Hotel. But, amidst the landmines, there are actually some pretty neat stories about the way this town operated in the 40s, 50s & 60s. I love the old photos, and pics of the memorabilia. I wouldn't pay full price for this book, but if you find an affordable used copy I'd recommend it for a quick read

This is a very interesting book and the writing is engaging enough but, for me, the book has one big problem. It badly needs editing, rearranging and sorting out. It reads to me like everything was written in bits and then assembled but not assembled very well, so that one reads both same piece of information many times or one reads several times about characters who were killed in an earlier chapter.This is frustrating but acceptable, I suppose, because the author is an enthusiast rather than a professional writer. I would still recommend this book.

Really interesting book. I would have liked more photos. Shame that this author hasn't written anymore.

I have read many Vegas books but I learnt loads from this well-written volume,including: The Moulin Rouge - Vegas' first multi-racial casino; the truth about Howard Hughes' acquisitions and some great Frank Sinatra stories. The familiar stories: the Stardust skim and Teamster loans are presented with new information. If you like Las Vegas literature and/or history you must buy this book.

This is okay but it does what every other Vegas/Mob book does and ignores the fact that the first Vegas Hotel, the Flamingo, was created by Willy Wilkerson and not Bugsy Segal. Really annoys me. Segal took it over and ruined it

Really good read,went to Vagas last September ,lot's going on, went and saw the Mob Experience at the Tropicana in the strip, lot's of interesting things about the Mob in Vagas,look forward to the next book by Steve Fischer, Joy Page England