says he advises us on how
to do our accounting and keep the casino honest. Everyone
acknowledges he'd know. He's run plenty of illegal joints in his day.
The Justice Department found nothing wrong with the contract, nothing
wrong with our hiring him as a consultant. I don't know if you
understand this, but Meyer Lansky has no criminal record."
"In point of fact," said Jonas dryly, "he tells you
how to skim."
"In point of fact," said Chandler, "he tells us how to
distribute the profits."
"Officially a corporation owns The Seven Voyages," said
Jonas. "Seven Voyages Corporation owns the gaming license. You
own all the stock."
"You checked," said Chandler. "Okay. Officially,
legally, I own everything," said Chandler. "I'm like Meyer
Lansky in one respect. I'm clean. I have no criminal record. So I
make a perfect front man."
Nevada grinned. "Why, Maurie has never even had a ticket for
jaywalking."
"I'm not going to ask you who really owns the points," said
Jonas. "But I am interested in one thing. What does it cost to
put up a casino hotel in Las Vegas?"
Chandler sipped wine. "When we first came out here, say in 1946,
there was a rule of thumb," he said. "To set up a
decent-size hotel and casino, you spent one million dollars, max —
including the price of the land. By the time Siegel and his partners
got the Flamingo into operation, they had three million in it. It
cost five and a half to open The Seven Voyages."
"What would happen if you didn't skim?" Jonas asked.
Chandler shook his head. "You couldn't pay off your investors.
Banks would never have put up five and a half million dollars to
build a casino hotel in Las Vegas. We had to have investors."
Jonas nodded. "If you had the five and
a half million, you wouldn't need to sell points, and then you
wouldn't need to skim. You could run strictly legal and make a good
profit."
Chandler grinned. "You thinking of building a casino hotel,
Jonas?"
Jonas lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. "Well ... Suppose I
offered package tours from LA and Frisco. Round-trip flight to Las
Vegas, accommodations at a Cord hotel, with meals, at a fixed price.
I —"
"Your people will fly in here, swim in your pool, eat your food,
see your shows, and wouldn't gamble. Hell, they'll bring the kids."
"Okay. The price includes a chit, redeemable only in chips. Say
a hundred dollars' worth. So they've paid for their gambling in
advance."
"Smart guys will turn in their chits for chips, walk around the
room, and come back and turn in their chips for cash."
"Junketeers can always do that," said Jonas. "The
remedy is, you watch out for them. You don't let them do it to you
twice. But the great majority will gamble with their chips, lose
them, and buy some more. You get somebody hooked on casino gambling,
they stay hooked. The junket is an investment."
Chandler laughed. "I see why you're a multimillionaire. I also
see why you're holed up in The Seven Voyages ducking a subpoena."
When they had finished their lunch and conversation, Morris Chandler
left the suite. Angie came in. Jonas's four young men, who had been
working in the living room of Nevada's suite, came in.
Nevada stood with Chandler as he waited for the elevator.
"A word to the wise, Max," said Chandler
quietly. "Your boy's awful sharp. Too sharp. I hope he
has sense enough not to talk to other guys."
"Jonas has got brains he hasn't used yet," said Nevada.
"Well, tell him to use them. I like the guy. I don't want him to
get hurt."
3
The telephone rang as Jonas, Angie, and Nevada sat together on a sofa
and sipped bourbon as the sun set in the desert. She picked it up.
"Morris Chandler," she said.
"Problem," said Chandler grimly. "Guess who just
checked into the hotel? Mrs. Jonas Cord!"
"Damn," Jonas muttered.
"She had a reservation. My guys took it. They don't know you're
here. I couldn't refuse to accommodate her. She's in a room on the
fourth floor, right under you. How the hell did she find out you're
here?"
"Uh ... Maybe
to do our accounting and keep the casino honest. Everyone
acknowledges he'd know. He's run plenty of illegal joints in his day.
The Justice Department found nothing wrong with the contract, nothing
wrong with our hiring him as a consultant. I don't know if you
understand this, but Meyer Lansky has no criminal record."
"In point of fact," said Jonas dryly, "he tells you
how to skim."
"In point of fact," said Chandler, "he tells us how to
distribute the profits."
"Officially a corporation owns The Seven Voyages," said
Jonas. "Seven Voyages Corporation owns the gaming license. You
own all the stock."
"You checked," said Chandler. "Okay. Officially,
legally, I own everything," said Chandler. "I'm like Meyer
Lansky in one respect. I'm clean. I have no criminal record. So I
make a perfect front man."
Nevada grinned. "Why, Maurie has never even had a ticket for
jaywalking."
"I'm not going to ask you who really owns the points," said
Jonas. "But I am interested in one thing. What does it cost to
put up a casino hotel in Las Vegas?"
Chandler sipped wine. "When we first came out here, say in 1946,
there was a rule of thumb," he said. "To set up a
decent-size hotel and casino, you spent one million dollars, max —
including the price of the land. By the time Siegel and his partners
got the Flamingo into operation, they had three million in it. It
cost five and a half to open The Seven Voyages."
"What would happen if you didn't skim?" Jonas asked.
Chandler shook his head. "You couldn't pay off your investors.
Banks would never have put up five and a half million dollars to
build a casino hotel in Las Vegas. We had to have investors."
Jonas nodded. "If you had the five and
a half million, you wouldn't need to sell points, and then you
wouldn't need to skim. You could run strictly legal and make a good
profit."
Chandler grinned. "You thinking of building a casino hotel,
Jonas?"
Jonas lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. "Well ... Suppose I
offered package tours from LA and Frisco. Round-trip flight to Las
Vegas, accommodations at a Cord hotel, with meals, at a fixed price.
I —"
"Your people will fly in here, swim in your pool, eat your food,
see your shows, and wouldn't gamble. Hell, they'll bring the kids."
"Okay. The price includes a chit, redeemable only in chips. Say
a hundred dollars' worth. So they've paid for their gambling in
advance."
"Smart guys will turn in their chits for chips, walk around the
room, and come back and turn in their chips for cash."
"Junketeers can always do that," said Jonas. "The
remedy is, you watch out for them. You don't let them do it to you
twice. But the great majority will gamble with their chips, lose
them, and buy some more. You get somebody hooked on casino gambling,
they stay hooked. The junket is an investment."
Chandler laughed. "I see why you're a multimillionaire. I also
see why you're holed up in The Seven Voyages ducking a subpoena."
When they had finished their lunch and conversation, Morris Chandler
left the suite. Angie came in. Jonas's four young men, who had been
working in the living room of Nevada's suite, came in.
Nevada stood with Chandler as he waited for the elevator.
"A word to the wise, Max," said Chandler
quietly. "Your boy's awful sharp. Too sharp. I hope he
has sense enough not to talk to other guys."
"Jonas has got brains he hasn't used yet," said Nevada.
"Well, tell him to use them. I like the guy. I don't want him to
get hurt."
3
The telephone rang as Jonas, Angie, and Nevada sat together on a sofa
and sipped bourbon as the sun set in the desert. She picked it up.
"Morris Chandler," she said.
"Problem," said Chandler grimly. "Guess who just
checked into the hotel? Mrs. Jonas Cord!"
"Damn," Jonas muttered.
"She had a reservation. My guys took it. They don't know you're
here. I couldn't refuse to accommodate her. She's in a room on the
fourth floor, right under you. How the hell did she find out you're
here?"
"Uh ... Maybe
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