Vegas and the Mob: Forty Years of Frenzy

This is a concise, entertaining, well-written history of the mob's role in the development of Las Vegas. The period covered is from prohibition to present day, with a particular focus on the 1940-1970s when mob influence was greatest. Moe names the main players and tells their stories with energy and verve, moves at a fast pace, and never writes a boring sentence. Names include Capone, Luciano, Anastasia, Lansky, Rothstein, Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, Dave Berman, Sinatra, Giancana, the Kennedys, Marilyn, Hoffa, Lefty Rosenthal, Howard Hughes, and many more. His stories tell of the hopes, aspirations, and difficulties faced by Vegas builders and the ensuing criminal activities (gang warfare, murder, bribery, skimming, money laundering), and attempts by law enforcement and political bodies to investigate and prosecute the parties involved (mostly unsuccessful). (Some of these stories will reverberate if you have seen such Scorsese films such as Casino and Donnie Brasco.) An easy read and highly entertaining. The book was well researched, and includes a bibliography and index. Highly recommended to readers with an interest in Las Vegas history or organized crime.

Picked this up as someone with only a vague knowledge of the subject material. That is I knew the mob had Vegas interests but that's about it.

Overall, a fun and quick read that is more of a summary than a deep history. Gives a rough outline of how the mob influenced the rise of Vegas and their impact on its development.

Two minor dings: First, the author name drops like he's applying for a job. And we're not given enough explanation of how Person A knows or is important to Person B. And there's a lot of people mentioned in this book so that can be confusing. Second, the transitions from section to section are choppy or straight up nonexistent. We get more than a few abrupt changes from subject to subject, often without warning. At first you'll go back to the previous paragraph, thinking you must have misread something and need to get your bearings back, only to realize that yes, you are now reading about a person and location completely separate from the previous paragraph with no explanation how we got there.

Pretty solid read. Read this on my Fire tablet while on the treadmill and found it a fascinating read. It details the rise of Vegas from a dusty train stop to the overwhelming monstrosity it is today. The book details a lot of the shady deals that went into getting casinos and hotels built and also some of the people that had the misfortune to cross the mob and ended up buried in the desert. Crooked deals, crooked pit bosses, the skim that the mob had and how they pulled them off at each casino and the reality of the character Joe Pesci played in Casino (he is real) are detailed here. Mob bosses from Chicago, New York and even Frank Sinatra make appearances as well as how Howard Hughes (even as crazy as he was at the time) made changes to how casinos were run and adapted to become the Vegas of today. The end is a bit rushed but overall the book is pretty satisfying.

Mobsters' and mob life has always been an interesting and often enthralling topic. Author Al W. Moe performs a prodigious task in explaining how this flamboyant and charismatic group of men came together collectively and singular in running Las Vegas, Nevada.
Notorious and often romanticized in movies, the author offers the reader a factual look at mob life stripping the façade away, revealing ruthless men with one goal; making as much money as they can and exploiting the naïveté consumer who's looking for fun and relaxation out in that fabulous desert spot called Las Vegas.
The mobs influence or how profound their desire in putting Vegas on the map pales in comparison to the lives lost.
The breakdown of how the influence of the mob or mobsters' came to Vegas and transformed that sleepy desert city into what we now view today is clearly correlated in a time frame that is easy for the reader to grasp.
Vegas and the Mob, is well worth the read.-EK Ellis
( I received this book free for review)

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

Vegas and the Mob was a very informative read, especially for me as I had no real idea. It mainly focuses on 1940 - 1970s which is when the mobs influence was predominate and how they went about getting Vegas on the map as it were.
I had heard and watching movies with mobsters and I knew it existed but watching a movie compared to real life is very different.
This was a well written, interesting book and a great way to learn some history which you probably wouldn't learn at school. I will definitely be looking out for more books from Al W Moe.

As a frequent traveler to Vegas, I really enjoyed the history presented here. It's clearly a complex subject, with lots of names and moving pieces. My main critique is that the writing style is somewhat difficult to follow.

However, I definitely reccomend it if you've been to Vegas or it holds any interest for you. It's honestly shocking how little vegas would have been without the Mob's influence.

Hugely entertaining. If you go to LV, just remember that it didn't get there without a lot of bloodshed.
I liked the book for the 'tales out of school' aspect of it, but more than that, it chronicled the layer upon
layer of intrigue and greed that got the whole place on the map. A lot of it was luck (no pun intended), and
a lot of it was sheer violence. It was interesting and worth the read.

Having lived in Vegas, looked forward to this book. It was not well written, was choppy and needed time line to help organize the rapid flow of characters and events in the evolution of Vegas. Would also suggest capsules of crime families involved and accompanying flow chart to help in making players more understandable.

I've always found this era of American history fascinating to explore. The story of Las Vegas and the ruthless, predatory men who dominated it with blood and cunning is worth the read, and one can tell the author researched the players well. However, this particular book is so disorganized that it becomes frustrating to read. Of course, the web of crime families, their origins and connections are all quite complicated. A better writer or a skilled editor could have done much to bring this essential American tale into clearer focus, while retaining the excitement the author obviously has for his subject.

Al pens "Vegas and the Mob", a well written piece of history about the mobs role in developing Las Vegas starting back in the 1940's thru 1970's. Al's vivid descriptions of the characters and of old Las Vegas makes you feel you are right there as he is describing it. I've read a couple of Al Moe's books but this one I think was my favorite one. Highly recommended for all readers who love a taste of Las Vegas and it's history.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.

It reads more like thoughts about events and the author jumps around a lot. There really is no story to follow. This could have been a good read if it was put into a chronological format. Hope they don't wack me, but it cold have been a lot better.

Expansive exposay of entertainers, mobsters, and some of the richest people of the time. If you are old enough to have been around since the beginning of gambling in Vegas, you will remember all the characters.

This was a very interesting book. If you have ever been to Las Vegas you might be interested in how it got started and who made it happen. This book tells about who the mob members were that were involved in getting Vegas going. The mob came from far and near and far to start this city of glitz. I always thought the Flamingo was the first hotel-casino on the strip. But it wasn't. The El Rancho was actually the very first one. Of course it is gone but the Flaming is still standing.

Comprehensive in breadth of understanding and explaining how Las Vegas came to be that Mecca of gambling and tourism. FASCINATING EXPLANATION OF how MAFIA, UNIONS, NEVADA POLITICOS , AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT intertwined. Thoroughly entertaining and intriguing historical work !

Very poor writing style, hard to follow any story line as he jumps from thought to thought. Reminds me of talking with my mother in law, can't stay on one subject long enough to satisfy your curiosity before jumping to another completely different thought. He may know of what he writes, but he doesn't write it very well. Don't waste much time with this, there are surely better books on the subject.

This book was an enjoyable read. I particularly liked Mr. Moe's narrative style. It gives the reader the feeling that they are curled up in a comfy chair chit chatting to a good friend. Some of the data presented I knew others I didn't in either case, it was a nice refresher. If you are an organized crime buff or a gambling fan, this book is for you. If you enjoy stories about quirky places, this book is good for that too.

Well written, informative, and fast paced! Interesting to learn the differences between glamorized television mob life and the real deal. So much of this is stuff I've never learned elsewhere: like how the mob basically created Vegas, and held great influence in their day. Great read!

I chose this book while planning a trip to Vegas. I enjoyed learning about the various characters who played significant roles in creating the Vegas of today. There was even a tidbit or two on Harry Reid. This book tells the historical story in an entertaining way. It is light reading for anyone needing to get away from the cares of life for a few hours. I would recommend it.

Lots of info. Unfortunately very haphazardly put together. The book wanders all over the place and has trouble not going off on tangents and loses focus on what was originally being talked about. Also there are far to many grammatical errors, almost as if it wasn't proofread and or edited. All that being said it's short enough of a read to give it a go and come away with some new found knowledge.

An informative (presumably) book that lacked documentary rerferences. How does he know, for example, the things that Sinatra said? Where does he get the information that Sinatra ordered a successfyl hit on one of his employees? Did he get it from Kitty Kelly (whom I have not read). How about J. Edgar Hoover's relationship to mob figures and other personal details about his same sex love activities? I understand it's a popular book but there is not even any kind of indication of where you would go to learn such things. A much more solid book on mob figures is John Buntin's L.A. Noir, but it does not have a Vegas focus.

Loaded with facts. Kind of hard to follow certain timelines due to so many stories crossing over each other. Lots of interesting stories about many famous folks & how they interacted with mob figures.