Milestones

DIED The inspiration for Robert De Niro's character in Martin Scorsese's Casino, Frank (Lefty) Rosenthal ran four Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s and was labeled "the greatest living expert on sports gambling" by SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Head of the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina casinos, he was famous for his alleged ties to the Mob. After surviving an attempt on his life, Rosenthal left the city and ended his gambling career. He never admitted any wrongdoing, once invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 35 times in a 1961 Senate hearing on gambling and organized crime. He was 79.

He called himself...

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