"The Commission" was the center of organized crime starting in the 1930's. The heavy hitters of organized crime
formed a board of directors for be mob. The board consisted of the five most powerful families and meant to
consolidate power and prevent turf wars in the future. They oversaw the rise of gambling in the United States and
profited from the skim the casinos sent back to them.
Lucky Luciano is credited with starting "The Commission" after a war devastated many of
the mob families in the early 1930's. Lucky became the defacto head of "The Commission"
after it's formation and he worked with Frank Costello and "Bugsy" Siegel who oversaw the
mob's entry into gambling in Las Vegas.
Another family head, Carlo Gambino, learned his ways from Lucky and eventually rose to lead
one of the five families in the 50's. Gambino took the lead of "The Commission" after Luck was
sent to prison and then deported to Italy. The family still lives on under the watchful eye of the
infamous mobster John Gotti.
New York hosted the headquarters for mob operations but it was Las Vegas where the real
money was made. "Bugsy" Siegel built the first mob casino in Las Vegas, The Flamingo.
Although his reign was short Bugsy made a lasting impact on the Las Vegas scene. The
Flamingo started the building of casinos on The Strip and was the start of bigger resorts.
Bugsy never got to see his casino grow into a success because less than a year after The
Flamingo opened Bugsy was murdered in a mob ordered hit when they thought he was stealing money from the
casino.
Bugsy's right hand man was Mickey Cohen who ran the sports book in the new Flamingo.
When Bugsy was murdered he took over mob operations in Las Vegas. Cohen spent time
in Alcatraz when he was convicted of tax evasion in 1961.
"Tony the Ant" Spilotro and "Lefty" Rosenthal ran the mob operations in
casinos in Las Vegas including the Stardust. Their lives have been made legend in movies like
Casino. Spilotro was known to be the enforcer taking the mob rule into his own hands when
needed. He was implicated in a number of murders and eventually his renegade ways caught
up to him. "The Commission" decided it was time for Spilotro to get out of the way and he was
buried in a corn field.
"Lefty" lived a much quieter criminal life. He had to keep good with the Gaming Board
to make sure "the skim" made it back to his mob bosses. He was eventually forced out
of Las Vegas when the mob lost control. "Lefty" was one of the last mobsters to run a
casino in Las Vegas leaving the city to be run by corporate owners like Steve Wynn.
The Commission had a long run in Las Vegas and still has
influence in America today. But there's no denying their
prints are all over Las Vegas. Both past and present.
formed a board of directors for be mob. The board consisted of the five most powerful families and meant to
consolidate power and prevent turf wars in the future. They oversaw the rise of gambling in the United States and
profited from the skim the casinos sent back to them.
Lucky Luciano is credited with starting "The Commission" after a war devastated many of
the mob families in the early 1930's. Lucky became the defacto head of "The Commission"
after it's formation and he worked with Frank Costello and "Bugsy" Siegel who oversaw the
mob's entry into gambling in Las Vegas.
Another family head, Carlo Gambino, learned his ways from Lucky and eventually rose to lead
one of the five families in the 50's. Gambino took the lead of "The Commission" after Luck was
sent to prison and then deported to Italy. The family still lives on under the watchful eye of the
infamous mobster John Gotti.
New York hosted the headquarters for mob operations but it was Las Vegas where the real
money was made. "Bugsy" Siegel built the first mob casino in Las Vegas, The Flamingo.
Although his reign was short Bugsy made a lasting impact on the Las Vegas scene. The
Flamingo started the building of casinos on The Strip and was the start of bigger resorts.
Bugsy never got to see his casino grow into a success because less than a year after The
Flamingo opened Bugsy was murdered in a mob ordered hit when they thought he was stealing money from the
casino.
Bugsy's right hand man was Mickey Cohen who ran the sports book in the new Flamingo.
When Bugsy was murdered he took over mob operations in Las Vegas. Cohen spent time
in Alcatraz when he was convicted of tax evasion in 1961.
"Tony the Ant" Spilotro and "Lefty" Rosenthal ran the mob operations in
casinos in Las Vegas including the Stardust. Their lives have been made legend in movies like
Casino. Spilotro was known to be the enforcer taking the mob rule into his own hands when
needed. He was implicated in a number of murders and eventually his renegade ways caught
up to him. "The Commission" decided it was time for Spilotro to get out of the way and he was
buried in a corn field.
"Lefty" lived a much quieter criminal life. He had to keep good with the Gaming Board
to make sure "the skim" made it back to his mob bosses. He was eventually forced out
of Las Vegas when the mob lost control. "Lefty" was one of the last mobsters to run a
casino in Las Vegas leaving the city to be run by corporate owners like Steve Wynn.
The Commission had a long run in Las Vegas and still has
influence in America today. But there's no denying their
prints are all over Las Vegas. Both past and present.
The Commission Story
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