Running Scared: The Life and Treacherous Time of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn

What a great book that finally uncovers the truth behind the self proclaimed King of Vegas. If you're looking for a book that tells how Wynn blatantly leveraged the Mob to start his rise to billions and then repaid the favor with insider stock trades that would make Enron executives blush, this is the book for you. If you're looking for the book that tells how Wynn uses political bullying to get his way, this is the book for you. If you're looking for the book that tells how he mismanged the Mirage Group to finance his personal lifestyle to where it was bought out for pennies on the dollar, this is the book for you. If you're a naive minion who beleives Wynn's marketing spin, look elsewhere.

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to know more about the character of the man who is Steve Wynn. It is a true account of the way he has conducted himself over his history in Vegas and Atlantic City, not the image projected of him by Steve Wynn and his company. It is well written and concise. John L. Smith does an excellent job presenting the information, including several of the more uncanny incidents Steve Wynn has been involved in over the years by merely presenting the facts as they happened. He asks some very good questions that should have been asked but never were because of who the man is. He also points out numerous things that have been glazed over by the press and various agencies involved. Very informative. A definite must read.

So damaging to his super clean image, Wynn drove the original publisher into bancruptcy and tried everything he could manage to keep this book out of circulation. Steve Wynn vs. the First Amendment (1st 1, Wynn 0). Certainly did improve Vegas by leaps and bounds, but at what cost? Using public water to build his exclusive Shadow Creek golf course, buying art, jets and NY condos with stockholders money as the stock sank into takeover waters, untimately being shown the door by casino magnate Kirk Kerkorian. Once owned by MGM, things changed. The golf course was opened, the art, NY condo and jet all sold. How does one man undermine Federal law to build a dolphin attraction? he is on film meeting with a known mobster who used his Atlantic City casino (Golden Nugget) to launder money, but can't seem to remember anything about it. Fact: the son of a Bino Hall operator rises up to be one of the worlds leading casino developers and owners through some very shady associations. He influences Nevada politics as all people with money are able to, so no surprise there. The mob associations are clearly documented and associating with a convicted felon (Milken) is grounds for losing your gaming license, yet Wynn does so with impunity. Wynn has brought some great changes to Las Vegas, but after reading the other sidie of the story, you have to ask yourself if the ends justify the means. John L. Smith has done a great job with the facts surrounding Steve Wynn. Hat's off to him!

The negative reviews are fair enough. The book reads like National Enquirer grade journalism. On the other hand, how many writers have had the guts to approach this subject head on ? Smith is most effective at bringing the reader into the environment that surrounds Wynn. One you begin to realize how seamlessly the world of hard core criminality has blended with ideals of "family life" and high culture, thanks to the inventive minds of the gaming industry, you might take a step back and ask what we are inadvertantly turning into. Have we been complicit in handing over popular culture to well tailored goombahs ? One might begin to reach that conclusion. One might begin to consider the consequences of an amoral money-power fascination that has taken hold in America. Does Wynn represent the emergence of a new type of hero, the wiseguy who gets over ? Yo, Wynn got over, America bought in. Is this who we are destined to become ?

1. The rags-to-riches tale of a true-life David Copperfield: but one who was and is ruthless, positively scary in his determination.2. The story of what -- or who -- makes the casinos -- money machines for the corporations that own them -- run. This is a clearly written, dramatic, true-life thriller. If you're not pre-disposed, as many are, to admiring people in power -- just because they're in power -- you'll find much to confirm your worst suspicions here. Smith did his work carefully, whatever those other reviewers say. I can't believe we read the same book. Read this; it's better than a million novels.