I was working for Levitt-Weinstein funeral home on October 13th, 2008 when we got the death call for Frankie Rosenthal at a penthouse in the Fontaine Bleu hotel in Miami. Unfortunately, it seemed the domestic life Rosenthal wanted for his wife didnt suit her nature. The shows first guest was Frank Sinatra. And thus began their tempestuous romance. I had the bookCasinowith me and after a short conversation, him and I had while we sat at the Bar.he autographed the book for me. He had the $15,000, of his own money, but he wanted the bosses to actually contribute cash. Rosenthal likely survived because of a manufacturing device unique to his particular model car (a 1981 Cadillac Eldorado): a stout metal plate under the driver's seat, installed by General Motors on all El Dorado models to correct a balancing problem. Due to this, Rosenthal was barred from racing establishments in Florida. Rosenthals story eventually served as inspiration for Martin Scorseses film Casino and McGee likewise inspired Sharon Stones Ginger McKenna, a woman for whom love meant money.. Though the years, federal, state and local gaming officials in Nevada confirmed that these Argent Corporation casinos were controlled by organized crime families. Wikimedia CommonsThe Stardusts sign in 1973. He served as press secretary for Nevada Governor Bob Miller, and was political editor at the Las Vegas Sun and managing editor at KFSM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Northwest Arkansas. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images, An Elvis-themed room is one of the many preserved spaces during a tour of Lefty Rosenthal's former home on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, in Las Vegas. When they had their second child together, a daughter named Stephanie, it depressed McGee even more. He focused on raising his children, who were both accomplished youth swimmers. Everybody loved Geri because she spread money around, said a former valet worker named Ray Vargas. The screenwriter said Frank Rosenthal likely had been a Top Echelon informant as far back as his Chicago years, when he was a prominent oddsmaker. He died from a heart . use of cookies. [1][pageneeded]. Geri McGee and Frank Lefty Rosenthal had a tempestuous relationship that led to constant fighting and the two nearly killing each other. 0 cemeteries found in Norfolk, St. Lawrence County, New York, USA. SUPER RARE picture of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal with his daughter Stephanie at a swim meet in 1982 .with thanks to Jason Graziano Bugsy Siegel Chicago Outfit Mafia Gangster Swim Meet Wise Guys Life Of Crime Al Capone Goodfellas Mobster More information . Given what the world now knows about the Rosenthals, that pre-dance exchange between Geri Rosenthal and Jeff Kutash about a good freak or a good rock or a good hustle takes on ironic significance. Yes, Lefty was the ultimate multi-tasker. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. The clock is running out, Pileggi said. Robert De Niro stars in the movie as Ace Rothstein, the character based on Rosenthal. The year before, hed been dragged in front of a Senate subcommittee on gambling and organized crime due to his now-nationwide underworld reputation as an oddsmaker and match fixer. But one video on YouTube includes rare footage of Geri Rosenthal dancing at pop singer Paul Ankas $3-million Las Vegas restaurant and disco, Jubilation. Two men assisted him as the cars gas tank ignited, causing an explosion like an atom bomb. Rosenthal saw the 4,000-pound Cadillac Eldorado jump a few feet, flames shooting through the roof two stories high. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. The home was built in 1970, county records show. Make sure that the file is a photo. Rosenthal and McGee later had two children together, Steven and Stephanie. There was an error deleting this problem. Authorities never figured out who set the bomb, and Rosenthal always insisted that he never knew either, but most suspect that the mob had done so as a way to get revenge and clean house after the news broke that Rosenthals friend, Spilotro, had been skimming mob profits. When McGee admitted to her affair with Spilotro, Rosenthal flew into a rage. Despite his frequent arrests for illegal gambling and bookmaking, Rosenthal was convicted only once, after pleading no contest in 1963 to allegedly bribing a New York University player to shave points for a college basketball game in North Carolina. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Another who thinks the Kansas City Mob probably engineered the car bombing is Gary Jenkins, a former Kansas City Police Department intelligence detective now running Gangland Wire, a website about the Mafia. She married me because of what I stood for. Frank Rosenthal remains one of the most riveting figures in the formative years of Las Vegas. Rosenthal later moved from Laguna Niguel to Boca Raton, Florida, where he ran a sports bar called "Croc's", and finally to Miami Beach, where he ran a sports betting website and worked as a consultant for several offshore sports betting companies. She was a Vegas showgirl and a hustler at a time when everyone in Vegas was in on a hustle. So we used a rubber mallet and he became a lefty.. One time, Lem got a phone call very early in the morning, telling him that 3 starting basketball players were sitting out the game taking place that day. In Chicago, hed long been a killer for his organized crime bosses and authorities believed he may have killed at least 25 people. on the other team. Miami, Florida Obituary MIAMI -- Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal--sports handicapper extraordinaire, Las Vegas gaming executive and the inspiration for the blockbuster movie "Casino"--died Monday. . In a 2015 Video Vault on Channel 3, Las Vegas television reporter Tom Hawley takes a look back at the Jubilation. Flames two or three inches high emerged from the defroster vent as he sat in his car with takeout food in the parking lot of Tony Romas restaurant on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. Frank Lefty Rosenthal is one of the more famous of Sin Citys mobsters thanks to the 1995 film, Casino, based upon Rosenthals career in Vegas. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Her death was ruled accidental, from a combination of Valium, cocaine and alcohol. Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, gambler and gangster, died on October 13th, aged 79 . This meant that each casino needed a squeaky clean frontman that would appear to be running things while Rosenthal was actually the boss behind the scenes. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Austin Harvey has also had work published with Discover Magazine, Giddy, and Lucid covering topics on mental health, sexual health, history, and sociology. 12. GREAT NEWS! Henry taught journalism at Haas Hall Academy in Bentonville, Arkansas, and now is the headmaster at the schools campus in Rogers, Arkansas. Unverified and perhaps apocryphal reports still claim that Las Vegas murder rate went up by 70 percent after Spilotro arrived in town. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 37 times and was never charged. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. It was unusual because usually they got pieces of action for free, or laid out cash on "juice" or "vig". sfn error: no target: CITEREFPileggi2001 (, 2425, 65, 6970, 97100, 175, 195197, 348, "Jane Anne Morrison: Spilotro was merely a killer; Lefty mastered the more frightening Glare", "Lefty Rosenthal, Kingpin in Las Vegas, Dies at 79", "Roberto Santiago: Player Interview: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal", "Las Vegas' first female FBI agent was master of disguise", "Interview with Frank Rosenthal, a Casino Legend in Vegas", "Nevada Gaming Commission's List of Excluded Persons now-defunct listing", List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Rosenthal&oldid=1099211277, Federal Bureau of Investigation informants, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with incomplete citations from May 2016, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from May 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 July 2022, at 15:24. Rosenthal agreed, but it also got the FBI breathing down his neck. Universal PicturesThe character Sam Ace Rothstein from the 1995 film Casino was based on Frank Rosenthal. Shortly after graduating from Van Nuys High School, McGee began working as a clerk at Thrifty Drugs, which she quickly realized she didnt care for. Cullotta and a burglary crew called the Hole in the Wall Gang were captured in 1981 breaking into what was then Berthas Gifts and Home Furnishings on East Sahara, not far from where Rosenthals car would be firebombed the next year. Rosenthal also survived a car bombing outside a Tony Romas restaurant on Sahara Avenue, and he had plenty of drama at his country club house. I knew Geri didnt love me when we got married. Rosenthal was later formally banned from Las Vegas casinos in 1987, when he was placed in "the Black Book", making him persona non grataunable to work in, or even enter, any Nevada casino because of his alleged ties to organized crime. 3. As he grew older, Rosenthals interest in and knowledge of gambling extended beyond horse racing and into other sports like football and baseball. He moved away from Las Vegas not long after the bombing, first to California, then to Florida, where he offered sports-betting advice on his own website before dying in 2008 of an apparent heart attack at age 79. At the time, Frank Rosenthal was the overseer of four casinos in Las Vegas for Midwestern mob bosses, most notably the now-demolished Stardust, managing the skim, or the theft, of untaxed gambling revenue. Rosenthal was added to the infamous casino black book in 1988, barring him from casinos for life. For the Rosenthals, extramarital affairs and alcohol-fueled fights were a part of life. Every swing. At one time, Lefty worked as a gossip columnist for the Las Vegas Sun. But Rosenthals various affairs, his abusive nature, and his domineering control over his wife only drove the couple further apart. Rosenthal left Las Vegas about six months later, and moved to Laguna Niguel, California. It all adds up to lying and spewing dangerous Democracy busting propaganda. Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Rosenthal, a Chicago Mob associate, ran the now-demolished Stardust hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip for Midwestern crime families that received untaxed gambling revenue skimmed from there and other resorts. We both know it. 11. Investigators speculated his life was saved because the 1981 model of that car had a steel stabilizing plate beneath the drivers seat, which deflected the blast. Learn more about managing a memorial . looking for autographs for Frank Rosenthal and Anthony Spilotro. Geri McGee loved money obtaining it, spending it, flaunting it. 1983. Frank Rosenthal filed for divorced. His notoriety, however, made Chicago a bit too hot for comfort, and so he asked his old friend Frank Rosenthal if he could stay with him in Vegas for a time. Rosenthal waged a public battle with state gaming regulators, including future U.S. As part of these so-called bookie wars, Rosenthal came under suspicion in several bombings of rivals buildings and cars. The county says it can still issue licenses. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. The Sordid Story Of Geri McGee, The Showgirl And Hustler Immortalized In Casino. The character of Ginger McKenna Rothstein, his wife in the film (played by Sharon Stone), is based on Geri McGee, Rosenthal's wife in real life. Courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal. By the mid-1950s, Rosenthal was working with the Chicago Outfit. Rosenthal asked himself, Why is my car on fire?. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. The Life Of Idi Amin, The 'Butcher Of Africa' Who Ruled 1970s Uganda, The Bizarre Story Of Bernie Tiede And The Real Murder Case That Inspired The Movie 'Bernie', What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. When we were driving back to the funeral home, I was notified who he was. Soon, that tumultuous part of Las Vegas history would end without any glamorous high notes, to be immortalized later by the book and movie. He reportedly moved to Las Vegas in 1968. Some signs of an uptick follow a year in which homebuyers, locally and nationally, pulled back amid a sharp rise in mortgage rates.