Major Arteburn Riddle (born ; died July 8, 1980) was an American businessperson who owned several

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s in the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

area. Riddle was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. At the age of 11, he moved with his family to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

.
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There, he eventually started working in his father's trucking and manufacturing businesses. By 1936, he was involved in an Indianapolis-area nightclub with illegal gambling, which was linked to mobster

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

and his

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

. In 1940, he became involved with another gambling club in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

. Around this time, he was romantically linked to mob figure

Virginia Hill Virginia Hill (born Onie Virginia Hill; August 26, 1916 – March 24, 1966) was an American organized crime figure. An Alabama native, she became a Chicago outfit courier during the mid-1930s. She was famous for being the girlfriend of mobster B ...

. Riddle moved to Chicago in the 1940s. Riddle made a fortune in the 1930s and 1940s with an oil and gas drilling company in Texas. He also owned a trucking company in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, from 1937 to 1954. Riddle started his Las Vegas casino career in 1956, when he took over the

Dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

. Riddle and his co-investors substantially expanded the hotel using loans from the mob-influenced

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...

pension fund. He was also noted for booking the first topless showgirl revue in Las Vegas, Minsky's Follies, into the casino. He opened the

Silver Nugget The Silver Nugget is a casino and arena located on Las Vegas Boulevard North in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned and operated by Fifth Street Gaming. The casino site covers and includes a arena. The sports book is operated by L ...

casino in

North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 216,961, with an estimated population of 251,974 in 2019. The city was incorporated on May 1, 19 ...

in 1964. Around 1975, he took over the Riata Club and reopened it as the

Silver City Casino The Silver City Casino was a casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos ar ...

. In 1977, he took over operation of the

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds k ...

hotel casino and renamed it as the Silver Bird. In 1978, he opened the casino at the Holiday International, under a lease from the hotel. In 1963, Riddle wrote ''The Weekend Gambler's Handbook'', a book of advice for casino gamblers. It became popular, despite containing some advice that was based on superstition rather than mathematics. After the book's publication, he appeared as himself on the June 24, 1963, episode of '' To Tell the Truth'', receiving two of the four possible votes. Riddle's son, Charles, died of suicide in 1966 at the age of 18. Riddle died on July 8, 1980, at

Cedars-Sinai Hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

after suffering from a rare

blood disease Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

. Soon after his death, Riddle's casinos went into bankruptcy. The Silverbird and the Holiday International closed down, and the Silver Nugget and Silver City were sold off. Riddle's estate sold his remaining shares in the Dunes around 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riddle, Major American casino industry businesspeople 1980 deaths Businesspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Chicago Outfit