Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - Steve Miller

Is Las Vegas showing them the way?
Will Al Qaeda be welcome in Vegas if they gamble like Whales?

Inside Vegas by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 8, 2007

In 1999, a beauty shop known as Scissors Palace opened in a residential shopping center several miles from the Strip. Its' owner was not a Vegas high roller, just a hard working beautician with a clever idea.

Soon after the salon opened, Ceasars Palace went to court and was quickly granted an order to stop the use of their casino's similar name and type lettering. That action was supposed to put imitators in their place.

At the same time, a violence-plagued topless bar was openly using the Ceasars Palace trademarked logos and fonts in their advertisements. To this day, Ceasars has not taken action against this bar.

You'd think a company with the reputation of Ceasars Palace should do everything to keep their good name from being associated with a strip joint that's long been known for extorting, beating, and even killing its' customers.

However, the Crazy Horse Too still uses the Ceasars logos and fonts, and Ceasars management looks the other way. Why?

Could it be because the bar's owner Rick Rizzolo is a degenerate gambler with a million dollar line of credit in their casino -- a "Whale" in Vegas lingo?

That's probably how "Cleopatra's Lounge" can copy the name of Ceasars Palace's famous Cleopatra's Barge, and how "Circus Maximus," the name of Ceasars main showroom can be the name of a topless bar's public area.

Nobody wants to offend a goose that lays golden eggs, and Rizzolo is just such a goose!

Las Vegas is the perfect example of a company town. Two clear standards exist; one for ordinary citizens; the other for high rollers who travel here from all parts of the globe. Our laws must be obeyed by average folks, but are readily broken by high rollers and some casino owners with no consequences. A few Whales even believe they have a form of diplomatic immunity after their Gulfstream jets arrive at McCarran's executive terminal from overseas. Unfortunately, they're probably right.

My sources who fly Whales around town in private helicopters, or drive them in limos have some amazing stories to tell of drugs, booze, and broads, but they know they'll lose their jobs if they say too much.

The results of this dual standard created a story in the March 1998 George Magazine entitled; The ten most corrupt cities in America. It describes the plight of an elderly Greek immigrant who had her property illegally taken by eminent domain for a casino parking garage that's partly owned by a former Las Vegas Mayor. In the story, I'm quoted stating, "This is a government for the casinos, of the casinos, and by the casinos -- and the citizens be dammed."

"His Royal Highness" Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, visited Las Vegas in 1997. Known as a Whale, he gambled millions of dollars at his favorite haunt, the Luxor. While there, witnesses report that he and his entourage visited the hotel's high roller restaurant; the Isis Room.

The Isis at the time was reserved for guests of the casino and did not show prices on the menu because all guests were comped. The plush eatery had only 40 seats in the main room and featured a darkly lit cocktail lounge with a piano bar where casino guests waited to be seated. The Isis also had a strong policy that required appropriate attire and forbid the smoking of cigars.

On one infamous night while a party of eight waited in the bar for an over-staying group to vacate their table, the newly hired restaurant manager made sure the waiting patrons were supplied with all the complimentary Crystal Champaign they could drink in exchange for their patience.

Just as the table was ready, a cigar smoking group of young men wearing T-shirts, shorts and tennis shoes entered the dining room and sat at the table reserved for the party waiting in the bar.

The manager immediately told the men that the table was reserved, and that they were improperly dressed and must extinguish their cigars. Two of the men jumped to their feet and sandwiched the manager.

He said they ordered him to address the man seated at the head of the table as "Your Royal Highness!" The manager said he felt physically threatened.

The manager who is Catholic, bravely responded by saying the only person he would address with such reverence is the Pope, and told the men to leave or he'd call security.

Within seconds, a dozen casino bosses entered the room and escorted the manager to his office where they ordered him to apologize to the person they described as the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain (the place where Michael Jackson took refuge). The manager refused to apologize, and was promptly fired.

This is an example of the privilege given Whales in Sin City -- especially those from the Middle East whose fortunes were made though petro-price gouging. (My next car is a hybrid.)

Since then, I've paid particular attention to stories and legends about Whales -- a group that seems to be able to live in a realm unknown to the common man. Persons to which our laws and standards often do not apply.

Rick Rizzolo the owner of the Crazy Horse Too is a Whale. He's famous for losing millions of dollars each year in Strip casinos including Ceasars Palace. You see, Whales are known for how much they lose, not how much they win.

This might make you believe Whales are a bunch of idiots, and some insiders on the Strip think you're right. But make no mistake, Whales live in a world all their own, and few outsiders are privy to their actions or movements.

If they want girls -- they get them. If they want drugs -- no problem. Whatever it takes to keep them high and blowing their money is offered whether legal or not.

Enter Rizzolo. He's expected to be sentenced on January 16 for racketeering and tax evasion. But those are just a few of his sins. He's also known as the man to call when a Whale wants a prostitute, or dope.

Not only does he blow millions of his own cash each year, he's also known up and down the Strip as a facilitator for commodities much more valuable to casino hosts who will spare no expense to keep their Whales losing at the tables.

So is Rizzolo expected to spend much time in Federal Prison, and if he does, who'll take his place as the Strip's biggest pimp and drug pusher? His presence will surely be missed if he's sent away.

Last week's INSIDE VEGAS was published in the Canada Free Press, a publication out of Toronto with over a million readers who seek out organized crime stories, especially ones dealing with Sin City.

In conversations with my new Canadian readers and editors, I learned of their fascination with Al Qaeda and the oil rich group's fetish with trying to take over our two country's governments. I also learned of many Canadian's dismay over their government's liberal views on immigration, and the easy access it inadvertently gives terrorists wishing to cross our borders to harm the United States.

Many of my new readers are concerned that Canada's liberal allowance of persons from Middle Eastern origins to use their country as a gateway into the U.S. is a terrible mistake, and I learned that two Sun Belt cities may be these terrorist's targets.

One is Phoenix, Arizona. The other is Las Vegas.

I have long been aware of the presence of dozens of La Cosa Nostra family members who during the past several decades relocated to Arizona cities including Lake Havasu, Tucson, and Phoenix. Persons including Sammy "The Bull" Gravano have found sanctuary there.

In the meantime, local city and county governments in both states have become prime targets for corruption, and possibly the models for our enemies outside the U.S. who want to gain control of our way of life.

On this subject, CNN commentator Glen Beck last week cited the existence of a highly classified FBI/CIA report titled, "Arizona: Long Range Nexus for Islamic Extremists."

For several years in the late 1980's, I owned a Grand Canyon air tour company. On my trips to Arizona I was fascinated by the east coast accents of many cab drivers in the town of Lake Havasu. They often bragged of being friends with some LCN members who encouraged them to move west, and how many such men now inhabit Arizona.

Knowing this, and also knowing many similar types who have migrated to Las Vegas, I cannot help but surmise that their corruptive techniques came with them -- techniques that are now being studied by much more sinister groups from outside our country's borders.

If a town or state welcomes hoodlums with open arms as has Nevada and Arizona, what's to stop the same Welcome Mat being placed for Al Qaeda or other oil-rich extremists who want to do us harm? All they have to do is clone American organized crime methods.

Las Vegas is one of the most corrupted local governments in the nation. I don't know that much about Arizona, but I do know about Vegas. We're the poster child for American corruption. We wrote the manual on how to corrupt local politicians and infiltrate city and county government, and Rick Rizzolo is the dean of our college of vice.

Rizzolo taught us what it takes to buy our local politicians, like the $5,000 per month he paid ex-cop and ex-City Councilman Mike McDonald to help the Crazy Horse operate under the radar. And the millions Rizzolo and his crew paid (continues paying) Mayor Oscar Goodman's law firm -- money that's now being paid back through favors including allowing the Crazy Horse to remain open. In July 2006, I filed an ethics complaint that stopped the Mayor from voting to help his former and present clients associated with the Crazy Horse Too. But he's still been able to influence the Council through a subordinate in the City Department of Business Activity.

Former LV Mayor Jan Jones was seen embracing Rizzolo and his mob friends after he bought a beach house near hers in Newport Beach, California. When in office, she was also known for doing Rizzolo favors. After she left City Hall, Rizzolo bought his way into her Newport social circle. In 1999, Jones became Vice President of the company that owned Ceasars Palace. Maybe that's why Trademark Infringement laws were not enforced against the Crazy Horse. Coincidentally, Rizzolo now lives in a multi-million dollar Vegas condo owned by Jones' ex-husband, also a Newport Beach resident.

These small examples are the microcosm of what's become of our local society and can be used as the road map Islamic extremists follow to gain strongholds in American cities. But particularly in Vegas, its easy to learn that Whales can do no wrong and are welcomed no matter their sins or beliefs. What a perfect example for taking over! Become a Whale in a gambling town and be protected by the town's main industry and its sycophants.

First it was Jewish gangsters like Meyer Lansky, Ben Siegal and Mo Dalitz who bought Vegas legitimacy. (In 1984, as President of Opportunity Village Association for Retarded Citizens, I presented Dalitz with the "Man of the Year" award at a ceremony held at the Desert Inn).

Later came Italian mobsters like Tony Spilotro, Joey Cusumano, Rick Rizzolo (once called a "Pillar of the community"), and Vinny Faraci. To keep the pace going, we even elect again and again a former (current?) mob attorney as our town's Mayor. He dutifully lets guys like Rizzolo ply their trade with impunity and receive only a slap on the wrist after Federal authorities intervened to do what we should have done long ago.

What an example we've set for the next wave of gangsters -- domestic terrorists who may have nuclear weapons! The Jewish and Italian gangsters of lore, through their past and present examples of how to control local governments, are showing domestic terrorists the way. And like the Nevada Test Site, Southwest towns may become their proving grounds.

So what's to keep the oil-rich from taking over Las Vegas and our neighbor Arizona? Not much! Our Mayor, District Attorney, and a new Nevada Supreme Court Justice were easily bought off by Rizzolo who has a lot less money than oil czars.

It seems everything in this town is for sale when Middle Eastern Whales treat our town as if they have sovereign immunity, and American Whales can get away with murder if they keep millions stashed in casino safety deposit boxes.

Vegas has become the perfect How To Guide to teach corruption of local government, and it's certain our nation's enemies are paying attention.

Is Sin City showing them the way in exchange for some very high stakes? You bet!

Copyright © Steve Miller