in Fort Worth. The local mob boss of that city, Lewis Tindell, was murdered shortly afterwards. With the 1946 election of Steve Guthrie as sheriff of Dallas County, Binion lost his fix with the local government and fled to Las Vegas, Nevada. Shortly afterward a long-running feud between Binion and Herbert Noble, a small-time Dallas gambler, boiled over when Noble refused to increase his payoff to Binion from 25 to 40 percent. Binion posted a reward on Noble's life, which eventually reached $25,000 and control of a Dallas crap game. Noble survived numerous murder attempts, sometimes narrowly escaping with gunshot wounds. In November 1949 his wife was killed in a car bombing intended for him. In retaliation, Noble planned to fly his private plane to Las Vegas to bomb Binion's house, but was restrained by local law enforcement before he could execute his plan. In August 1951, as Noble drove up to his mailbox, a bomb exploded nearby, killing him instantly. Binion lost his Nevada gaming license in 1951, and was sentenced to a five-year term in 1953 at Leavenworth federal penitentiary for tax evasion. Casino years In Las Vegas, Binion became a partner of the Las Vegas Club casino, but left after a year due to licensing problems. In 1949 he opened the Westerner Gambling House and Saloon, but he soon sold out after conflicts with his casino partners. In 1951, Binion purchased the Eldorado Club and the Apache Hotel, opening them as Binion's Horseshoe, which immediately became popular because of the high limits on bets. He initially set a table limit of $500 for craps, ten times higher than the limit at his competitors of the time. As a result of outdoing the competition he received death threats, although eventually casinos raised their limits to keep up with him. Additionally, the Horseshoe would allow a bet of any size from a player as long as the bet was no larger than the player's initial bet. Binion was in the vanguard of Las Vegas casino innovation. He was the first in the downtown Glitter Gulch to replace sawdust-covered floors with carpeting, the first to dispatch limousines to transport customers to and from the casino, and the first to offer free drinks to players. Although comps were standard for high rollers, Binion gave them to all players. He also shied away from the gaudy performing acts typical of other Las