January 29, 2004 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary Sells the Real Story of Benny Binion and the History of Las Vegas to PublicAffairs On January 29, 2004, Greg Dinkin of Venture Literary, representing critically acclaimed novelist and poker television commentator Jesse May, sold the World rights to No Limit: Benny Binion and the Creation of Las Vegas to David Patterson at PublicAffairs. If you’ve seen the films Bugsy and Casino, then you already know the story: Bugsy Siegel had a dream, and then the mob smoothly built Las Vegas into the city we know today. The problem is: that version is flat-out wrong! In reality, it was a wide-open war from 1945 to 1952 that determined the fate of Las Vegas. And when the gangsters from New York, the cowboys from Texas, and the corrupt politicians who already lived in Las Vegas collided in 1945, a pitched battle raged in the courthouse, the streets, and on the gaming tables for control of the town’s promised riches. In this riveting account of untold early Vegas history, May will re-create Benny Binion’s odyssey to reign supreme in Las Vegas—an odyssey that sees him in and out of ownership of three different casinos, denied his gambling license, and in constant conflict with his would-be bosses. May describes how a murder on a casino floor provoked the most expensive and outlandish trial that Las Vegas had ever seen, with Benny Binion at the center of the storm. He also explores the famous showdown between Nick "the Greek" Dandalos and Johnny Moss—a weeks-long poker game that saw the Greek lose millions of dollars in a series of gambling exploits that have since become legendary. James McManus, best-selling author of Positively Fifth Street, has already offered up praise for May’s book: "Jesse May’s The Las Vegas Project, about the early days of Binion’s Horseshoe, will not only be a necessary piece of American cultural history, but it’s bound to be scarily entertaining. May has gambling in his blood; he has access to all the key sources; and—most important of all—he can write." As evidenced by his first two books, the poker novel Shut Up and Deal and the travel book The Gambler’s Guide to the World, May is familiar with the workings of both gamblers and casinos. He has hosted the UK television show Late Night Poker for all of its six seasons, and he was also the host and play-by-play commentator for the 2000 Poker Million Tournament and the Poker Million Masters tournament, which aired for seven weeks on Sky Sports TV in 2003. Most recently, May was the commentator at the Sands in Atlantic City for a six-hour show, Showdown at the Sands, which aired on Fox Sports on Thanksgiving Day in 2003. To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com. To learn more about PublicAffairs, visit: http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/.