He died on October 13, 2008 in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. At one time, Lefty worked as a gossip columnist for the Las Vegas Sun. In recent history, the house has been the site of editorial fashion shoots, including one in the pool area with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. That era, punctuated by the car bombing, resulted in several Midwestern mobsters being imprisoned a few years later in casino skimming trials. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesAnthony Spilotro sits in a Las Vegas courtroom in connection with two old homicide cases. This article was amended on Saturday October 25 2008. Frank Rosenthal would be injured in a car bombing in 1982 outside a Tony Roma's restaurant on East Sahara Avenue. Weve really loved it, Jeff Green said. After the divorce, on October 4, 1982, Frank Rosenthal escaped serious injury when a bomb was detonated. Meanwhile, authorities indicted Spilotro and a dozen other mobsters whod been making serious money off of these casinos. Authorities never figured out who set the bomb, and Rosenthal always insisted that he never knew either, but most suspect that the mob had done so as a way to get revenge and clean house after the news broke that Rosenthals friend, Spilotro, had been skimming mob profits. 1983. Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal died of a heart attack at age 79 in Miami Beach in 2008. Together with Maisa Al Qassimi and an exceptional team of local and international colleagues, we will deliver one of the most progressive institutions of the 21st century. Frank Rosenthal in California. But if Rothstein and his violent Las Vegas adventures seem too outrageous to be true, take note that this character was based on Frank Lefty Rosenthal, a real-life gambler and gangster every bit the smooth criminal that Sam Rothstein was. Lem happened to be talking to Lefty later. Watch the Casino movie trailer Rosenthal left a local restaurant and got into his car. 50K views 3 years ago This is Frank Rosenthal telling the story on how he met his wife Geri. The details of the entire conversation/meeting were "somewhat" bizarre and interesting. The divorce from Rosenthal was finalized on January 16, 1981, when McGee was living in Los Angeles. Another who thinks the Kansas City Mob probably engineered the car bombing is Gary Jenkins, a former Kansas City Police Department intelligence detective now running Gangland Wire, a website about the Mafia. For legal reasons, the Stardust was renamed the Tangiers in the film. He moved away from Las Vegas not long after the bombing, first to California, then to Florida, where he offered sports-betting advice on his own website before dying in 2008 of an apparent heart attack at age 79. Washington, D.C. Sept. 7, 1961. Vital Vegas is your go-to source for news and opinions about all things Las Vegas, from award-winning blogger and Las Vegas insider Scott Roeben. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Lefty Rosenthal initially ran a betting parlor alongside a boyhood friend from Chicago who acted as his enforcer: Anthony Tony the Ant Spilotro (called Nicky Santoro and played by Joe Pesci in Casino). The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. This house will sell by history alone, Auxier said. He did regulate the number of blueberries per muffin, with each muffin containing at least ten blueberries. [6] Rosenthal and McGee got in physical altercations, and Rosenthal hired private detectives to track her activities. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our The two werent really speaking at that point.. This has been corrected. But what is certain is that Spilotro and his Hole in the Wall Gang, including Frank Cullotta, soon proved to be uncontrollable killers. The carpet is long gone, though. Lefty Rosenthal had a TV show. Two men assisted him as the cars gas tank ignited, causing an explosion like an atom bomb. Rosenthal saw the 4,000-pound Cadillac Eldorado jump a few feet, flames shooting through the roof two stories high. [15] After his death, it was disclosed by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison that Rosenthal had been a top echelon informant for the FBI, and his wife Geri was also an FBI informant.[16][17]. -NY Times. Unverified and perhaps apocryphal reports still claim that Las Vegas murder rate went up by 70 percent after Spilotro arrived in town. Frank Rosenthal remains one of the most riveting figures in the formative years of Las Vegas. We found 15 records for Stephanie Rosenthal in MN, NJ and 9 other states. After a few years, McGee began to resent domestic life, and she started going out at night and drinking. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will share the island with Louvre Abu Dhabi, built by the French architect Jean Nouvelthe first time the Muse du Louvre has created an institution outside of France. Some believe Frank Mad Bomber Balistrieri, boss of the Milwaukee Mob, was behind the bombing of Rosenthals car. In 1988, he was officially put in the "Black Book" (List of Persons Excluded from Licensed Gaming Establishments in the State of Nevada). Rosenthal and McGee later had two children together, Steven and Stephanie. Marmor was the character named Lester Diamond in Casino, played by James Woods. Casino: Behind the Movie Interviews & Video, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. movie Casino. Marmor stayed in the city of Los Angeles, and McGee and her daughter moved to Las Vegas. Watch video featuring interviews with Frank Rosenthal, the real Sam Rothstein, portrayed by Robert De Niro in the movie. for the film starring Robert De Niro, Joe Get the latest gaming industry news. He focused on raising his children, who were both accomplished youth swimmers. Lansing, MI. In one college basketball season, Lefty ran that $15,000. Rendering of the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. See more Publicity Listings: Here are 12 things we find fascinating about this man whose accomplishments included creating the first sports book operating inside a casino in Las Vegas. Published by Hatje Cantz, 2007. Details of his death were sketchy, but a variety of sources said Rosenthal died of an apparent heart attack and was found at home by his daughter, Stephanie. Anthony Spilotro, the basis for Joe Pesci's Nicky Santoro character, caught one of the two men who killed the Scalvo brothers without permission. She ends up dancing with a professional dancer. Rosenthal later moved from Laguna Niguel to Boca Raton, Florida, where he ran a sports bar called "Croc's", and finally to Miami Beach, where he ran a sports betting website and worked as a consultant for several offshore sports betting companies. This meant that each casino needed a squeaky clean frontman that would appear to be running things while Rosenthal was actually the boss behind the scenes. I then gave my standard answer that I couldnt give my permission for them to commit a felony but if they decided to open a book in LA I need to know everyone involved and be kept up to date on all the details. Simpson. Investigators speculated his life was saved because the 1981 model of that car had a steel stabilizing plate beneath the drivers seat, which deflected the blast. After all, how many people could have their life story turned into a hit movie with few, if any, embellishments needed? Rosenthal later threatened to divorce McGee, and take custody of the children, leaving her with little money. "My beat was the federal courthouse," said Rundell. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesFrank Rosenthal adjusts his tie while refusing to answer questions before a Senate subcommittee on gambling and racketeering. Rosenthal lived in the three-bedroom house near the corner of Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue with his wife, Geri, and their children during his Las Vegas heyday. Every swing. Things only got worse in October 1982. Rosenthal was added to the infamous casino black book in 1988, barring him from casinos for life. We left that because we thought, Imagine the history of the conversations had on those ? Sheri Green said. All in all, Frank Rosenthals moves helped send the Stardusts profits soaring. Universal PicturesThe character Sam Ace Rothstein from the 1995 film Casino was based on Frank Rosenthal. Once you are a Top Echelon informant, you are a target, Pileggi said, adding that mobsters from somewhere in the Midwest Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City probably were responsible for trying to kill Rosenthal with the car bomb. of sports handicapper Frank 'Lefty' There might be some aging, former federal agent who knows something, Pileggi said, but so far, nothing definitive has emerged, and each passing day closes the door a little more. Some romantically claim he got the nickname when, in 1961, he appeared before a Senate hearing on organized crime and invoked the Fifth Amendment 37 times, keeping his left hand in the air while doing so. Alice suffered from some mental illness, which put a strain on Geri and her daughter's home life. Nicholas Pileggi began working on the script for Casino, based on the Rosenthal family, with Martin Scorsese around 1990. I had no idea who he was at first. The screenwriter said Frank Rosenthal likely had been a Top Echelon informant as far back as his Chicago years, when he was a prominent oddsmaker. The original intercom system remains, despite having been quieted by age long ago. When Rosenthal was denied a gaming license, he got into a confrontation with the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Due to this, Rosenthal was barred from racing establishments in Florida. Casino.org News Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal was born on June 12, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. McGee grew up near Sherman Oaks, California, and graduated from Van Nuys High School in the year 1954. [13][pageneeded] However, in June 1990, Rosenthal won an unprecedented court ruling to have his name removed. Independent sources confirmed. McGee's mother Alice, now separated from Roy McGee, moved to Las Vegas to take care of Robin while McGee was working. This is a clip from the show episode that shows Frank talking to his. During the proceedings, he invoked the Fifth Amendment a whopping 38 times, even when asked if he was left-handed hence his nickname, Lefty (some sources claim that the nickname simply comes from his being left-handed). A History Channel publication released in 2020 titled The American Mafia states that most evidence points to Balistrieri. [7] While Rosenthal had dined at the Tony Roma's restaurant at 620 E. Sahara Avenue, a person or persons unknown placed the bomb in his car. use of cookies. Frank Cullotta, a Chicagoan who reconnected with childhood pal Spilotro in Las Vegas in the 1970s, becoming his Mob lieutenant in town, said in a recent telephone interview that the Kansas City Mafia suspected Rosenthal of being a government informant and therefore wanted to take him down. Though he was secretly running several casinos, he had no official gaming license (his past meant that he surely wouldnt have been able to get one). The flames were reflected on the interior windshield. Yes. McGee told her aunt she did not want to attend Woodbury but would rather attend a different school, and her aunt refused to pay for any other school but Woodbury. Rosenthal was later formally banned from Las Vegas casinos in 1987, when he was placed in "the Black Book", making him persona non grataunable to work in, or even enter, any Nevada casino because of his alleged ties to organized crime. Mr. Glick was portrayed in the movie. of 2. But Rosenthal emerged unscathed and took his two children to California and then to Florida, where he worked as a nightclub manager and ran an online betting site before dying in 2008 at the age of 79. Yes. At Marmor's instigation, Geri and Robin moved to Las Vegas, where she worked as a cocktail waitress and, for a short time, a showgirl at the Tropicana, but eventually became a casino hustler hitting up gamblers for chips to play. Also, see footage of Tony Spilotro, the real Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). View the profiles of professionals named "Stephanie Rosenthal" on LinkedIn. 2 children. Bonus trivia: After Tony the Ant came to Las Vegas, the murder rate went up 70%.). The doors are thick and heavy, the windows are solid panes and fixtures around the house are steel. Wife of Las Vegas sports handicapper, Frank Rosenthal, their life story was the focus of a novel, Casino, by author Nicholas Pileggi, and in the subsequent 1995 movie by the same name; her movie role was played by actress Sharon Stone. Her involvement with casinos and criminal activity in Las Vegas, along with that of her husband Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, was chronicled in Martin Scorsese's film Casino (1995). Anthony Spilotro was to become a "capo" and his brother, Michael, was to become a "made member". Despite his frequent arrests for illegal gambling and bookmaking, Rosenthal was convicted only once, after pleading no contest in 1963 to allegedly bribing a New York University player to shave points for a college basketball game in North Carolina. Cullotta said the Kansas City crime family, led by Nick Civella, adhered to omert, the Mafia code of silence. A History Channel publication released in 2020 titled The American Mafia states that "most evidence" points to Balistrieri. This casino innovation doubled the Stardusts income in one year. The former home of Frank Lefty Rosenthal, Las Vegas casino executive, mob-associated sports bettor and inspiration for the book and movie Casino, is on the market. Rosenthal will also be tasked with conserving and developing the Guggenheim Abu Dhabis international collection, which aims to create a new understanding of art histories, the museum says in a statement. @ Drew Orye: Hey, can you drop a line to tangento@LostVegas.us? Compatibility. Given his talent for gambling and his organized crime connections, he quickly rose through the ranks and was soon running the Stardust and three other casinos, all of them believed to be under the control of the Chicago Outfit. According to the publication, Balistrieri blamed Rosenthal for the Chicago Outfit's demand that he "surrender 25 . ISBN: 9783775718608 The more spacious home featured in the award-winning movie is a few blocks away. 7. Heavyweights in the casino and gaming arena and Hollywood have shown interest or negotiated offers, house presenter and local Realtor Aaron Auxier said. The car bombing came up during a panel discussion at The Mob Museum in 2017. He was previously married to Geraldine ("Geri") McGee. 2. Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who has died of a heart attack aged 79, was a Las Vegas legend, a pioneer who brought sports bookmaking into US casinos as a legitimate business, at least by Vegas. The shows first guest was Frank Sinatra. Geri Rosenthal was said to have been a devoted mother, but her marriage to Frank was troubled, to say the least, a fact that he blamed on her alcohol and drug problems. He suffered only minor burns and a few broken ribs. . Had some of the events of Rosenthals life played out earlier, Jeff Green may have been invited to his future home back in the day. According to the publication, Balistrieri blamed Rosenthal for the Chicago Outfits demand that he surrender 25 percent of the take from his skimming operation.. Another suspect in the car bombing is former Milwaukee crime boss Frank "Mad Bomber" Balistrieri. [11] The marriage ended in divorce in 1981, with Rosenthal attributing the failure primarily to McGee's inability to escape her dependence on alcohol and drugs. In December 1979, Tony Spilotro, the real-life Nicky Santoro, was blacklisted by the Nevada Gaming Commission, preventing him from entering any casino. Rosenthal secretly ran the Stardust, the Fremont, the Hacienda and the Marina with mob influence and without a state license, a move that made him famous and subsequently blacklisted from Nevada casinos for the latter part of his life. Thats when I realized for the first time it hadnt been an accident, he told Pileggi. Watch Frank Rosenthal interviews and In the film, the Rosenthals only have one daughter, Amy, and in real life, McGee had three children. I'm trying to find my cousins..son and daughter of Cliff Jones Asst Govenor of LV back in 40s. Spilotro, portrayed by Joe Pesci in the Since then she has published influential articles and held talks on . Rosenthal left Las Vegas about six months later, and moved to Laguna Niguel, California. Edited by Stephanie Rosenthal. Unlike others from that period, Rosenthal never was held criminally responsible for the widespread skimming that took place then. When Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal said: "I'm not Bob and he's not Frank," he was talking about himself and Robert De Niro, who played him in the film Casino. Moments later, it exploded. Most people who might have known probably are dead, he said. The film takes some creative license with the facts and timeline, but is broadly accurate to Rosenthal's story and his relationship with Anthony Spilotro, on which the character Nicky Santoro (played by Joe Pesci) is based. Father of steven and stephanie rosenthal. Senator Harry Reid. 11. Washington, D.C. Sept. 7, 1961. She is buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in Los Angeles. 11 years later they divorced on 16th Jan 1981. Courtesy of, Tony Spilotro, who worked side by side with Rosenthal for years as associates of the Chicago Outfit, has long been suspected of orchestrating the car bombing but evidence linking him to it is lacking. The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, an arm of his government, are centrally involved in the construction of the museum, which has been blighted by delays throughout its construction. On November 9, 1982, at the age of 46, she died in an LA motel from a drug overdose of valium, cocaine and whiskey. Former Las Vegas casino executive and mob-connected sports handicapper Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal has died at his Florida home at age 79. Last edited on 14 November 2022, at 02:01, "Real Life Mafia Moll Gave Star Her Oscar Role", "Lefty Rosenthal, Kingpin in Las Vegas, Dies at 79", "Gangster Saga gets put on the big screen", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geri_McGee&oldid=1121772217, This page was last edited on 14 November 2022, at 02:01. In the movie Casino, Rosenthal survives an attempt on his life when his car exploded. each to be partners with him in betting. But to help clear his name, Lefty paid $50,000 for an autopsy that determined her death was caused by a lethal cocktail of cocaine, Valium, and Jack Daniels. Was she really as offbeat and volatile as Sharon Stone in the movie? View Full Report. This year, the Rosenthal incident is back in the public eye with the 25th anniversary of the movie Casino, based on Pileggis 1995 nonfiction book, Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Project: Viva Lost Vegas Mr. Rosenthal died at the age of 79 after suffering a heart attack at his Miami Beach home on October 13, 2008. She studied art history at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich and earned her doctorate from the University of Cologne. Rosenthal expected McGee to be a stay-at-home mom while he was out at the Argent casinos working. I wouldn't be willing to dispute what you just said, but I certainly wouldn't confirm it.[18], sfn error: no target: CITEREFPileggi2001 (, 2425, 65, 6970, 97100, 175, 195197, 348, "Jane Anne Morrison: Spilotro was merely a killer; Lefty mastered the more frightening Glare", "Lefty Rosenthal, Kingpin in Las Vegas, Dies at 79", "Roberto Santiago: Player Interview: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal", "Las Vegas' first female FBI agent was master of disguise", "Interview with Frank Rosenthal, a Casino Legend in Vegas", "Nevada Gaming Commission's List of Excluded Persons now-defunct listing", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Rosenthal&oldid=1099211277, This page was last edited on 19 July 2022, at 15:24. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. 3. Geri Rosenthal is buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Geraldine "Geri" McGee was born May 16, 1936, and grew up in Sherman Oaks, California. He was not, as we suggested in the article above, referring to Frank Sinatra. Stephanie rosenthal casino robin marmor daughter of geri mcgee Business Journalism. Balistrieri was well known for using explosives to solve his problems. The year I started being friends with Vince Spilotro was the same year the car got blown up, he said. Senator) Harry Reid. In the 1970s, he hosted a top-rated television variety show direct from the world famous Stardust Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had the $15,000, of his own money, but he wanted the bosses to actually contribute cash. Like us on Facebook. The Life Of Idi Amin, The 'Butcher Of Africa' Who Ruled 1970s Uganda, The Bizarre Story Of Bernie Tiede And The Real Murder Case That Inspired The Movie 'Bernie', What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. He was part of a crew of professional card cheats, and calling the cops would do nothing to stop them, Rosenthal said in an interview later. Used To Live In. She worked her way up the Las Vegas social ladder, meeting various businessmen. looking for autographs for Frank Rosenthal and Anthony Spilotro. Lefty Rosenthal survived the car bomb attack, but he left Las Vegas soon afterward. Is there any wonder that they loved him? [8][incomplete short citation], In 1976, the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) discovered that Rosenthal was secretly running four large casinos without obtaining a state gaming license, holding a hearing to determine his legal ability to obtain a license. Frank Cullotta is portrayed in the movie Casino by actor Frank Vincent, as Nicky Santoro's sidekick Frankie Marino. This was a horrible man-a brute who beat his wife in real life. The two men who were electronically signaling each other were part of a larger group that had been scamming all the casinos for an extended period of time. 8. Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison later confirmed through her law enforcement sources what some mobsters sensed, that Rosenthal had been a Top Echelon federal informant. 12. Were not retiring any time soon.. I was in the last year or two of my career with the Sherriff's Dept as a Deputy. Minneapolis, MN. According to Frank, the real story is that he filed for the divorce and for full custody of their children. I included the great Frank Rosenthal Show intro into the clip and hope you enjoy it. I ditched them at first and then I told them who I was and that I had my Departments permission to make the meeting. Image Courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP. The true story behind Geri Rosenthal (Ginger in the movie) reveals that her interaction with these people ultimately led to her untimely death. She was still visited periodically by her childhood sweetheart Marmor, just as the movie portrays, and had an affair with none other than Tony Spilotro, among others. Geri McGee and Frank Lefty Rosenthal had a tempestuous relationship that led to constant fighting and the two nearly killing each other. But he had a weird free access to mob bosses, whereas Italians would have to deal with buffers, like Capos. The third involved a biker crowd she'd gotten involved with in Los Angeles, where she moved after the divorce. Her sister Barbara moved in with her after separating from her husband; Barbara McGee had two small children and needed a place to stay.[5]. . The pair were fans of the mid-century modern architecture popular in the area but checked out the house only on a whim. Frank Rosenthal moved to California and then to Florida, where he died of a heart attack in 2008 at age 79. Meanwhile, Frank Rosenthals whole world was falling apart as authorities continued to interrogate him about his connections with Spilotro and his involvement in all manner of illegal activities that had taken place inside his casinos. I had the bookCasinowith me and after a short conversation, him and I had while we sat at the Bar.he autographed the book for me.