James Gottlieb

Dunes Hotel

One of the venerated original properties associated with the Las Vegas Strip, the Dunes Hotel opened during a mid-1950s casino building boom, and soon became one of its casualties. Over the next four decades, the controversial Dunes would survive a succession of owners, allegations of hidden mob ownership, and marginal profits before it was destroyed to make way for several Las Vegas resorts including the $2 billion Bellagio Hotel.

Central States, Southeast, Southwest Areas Pension Fund

Once nicknamed "the mob's bank," the Teamsters Union's Central States, Southeast, Southwest Areas Pension Fund, based in Chicago, played a major—and infamous—role in the rapid expansion of the Las Vegas hotel-casino industry following World War II. From 1958 to 1977, the pension fund's almost $250 million worth of low-interest loans to casino developers, many with ties to organized crime, brought unprecedented growth to the Las Vegas Strip and the city's downtown.

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