LOST VEGAS: Celebrity Dealers
Posted on: May 22, 2025, 04:14h.
Last updated on: May 22, 2025, 05:07h.
Among the various illegal activities one might have stumbled across in a Las Vegas casino in the 1950s was celebrity dealing.
Dean Martin reportedly ran blackjack tables for kicks between his 8 p.m. and midnight shows at the Sands, a casino that, according to multiple sources, was financed in part by mobsters Meyer Lansky and Frank Costello.
Martin loved to show off the skills he learned while dealing blackjack (also illegally) as a teen at the Rex Cigar Store in Steubenville, Ohio — a front for mob-run illicit gambling and drinking during Prohibition. (He also ran illegal craps games there.)
Nick Tosches’ 1992 book, “Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams,” cites at least two instances of Dino dealing at the Sands — in March 1956 and in January/February of 1959. And the LIFE magazine photo above likely documents another. (It was published on Dec. 22, 1958, and LIFE typically published photos close to when they were captured — especially of celebrities.)
Our friends at the Las Vegas Advisor (LVA) reported that Sinatra also dealt blackjack at the Sands, noting that it occurred later, during The Summit’s run in the showroom there, which began in 1960. (The all-star group never referred to itself as the Rat Pack.)
“It was a combination publicity stunt, interaction with high rollers and show-goers, and a way for the bossy Sinatra to assert himself in the casino in which he owned a couple of points,” according to the LVA.
It Was Still Illegal
Back then, as now, to deal at a casino, one must have completed training and registered as a gaming employee with the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).
Neither Martin nor Sinatra did either. But no casino manager would have dared halt a game being run by one of them for skirting regulations, considering how much excitement (and money) they brought to the gaming floor.
Today’s corporately operated casinos still value celebrity appearances, but not at the risk of Instagrammable moments that might lead to uncomfortable regulatory questions.
In fact, there hasn’t been a single documented instance of celebrity dealing in Las Vegas since Dino and Ol’ Blue Eyes did it — though the old Imperial Palace did feature “dealer-tainers.” (These were dealers who also performed as celebrity impersonators. And, full disclosure, this reporter fully trained and registered as a blackjack dealer who also impersonated Sonny Bono for a 2006 newspaper column.)
Modern casinos encourage celebrities to make guest appearances that are more compliant, such as playing at high-limit tables or hosting charity poker tournaments.
They will also occasionally allow celebrity bartending. However, if the star hasn’t completed the TAM (Techniques of Alcohol Management) training required by the state of anyone serving alcohol to the public in a licensed establishment, that’s also an illegal activity. (Technically.)
So some things never change.
“Lost Vegas” is an occasional Casino.org series spotlighting Las Vegas’ forgotten history. Click here to read other entries in the series. Think you know a good Vegas story lost to history? Email corey@casino.org.
Last Comments ( 1 )
Bullshit about expert training. Back in the day, somebody could teach you something in a day to 21. They had a game that had no practice Today at a different world, but not back in the day