Paul "Skinny" D'Amato (December 1, 1908 – June 5, 1984) also known as "Mr. Atlantic City", was the owner of the

500 Club The 500 Club, popularly known as The Five, was a nightclub and supper club at 6 Missouri Avenue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It was owned by racketeer Paul "Skinny" D'Amato, and operated from the 1930s until the building burned ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, from the 1940s until the club burned down in 1973.

Early life

D'Amato was born to

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and indus ...

parents in 1908 in

. He was one of eight children. When one or both of their parents died, D'Amato opened a cigar store at the age of 15 to help support the other seven children. The store was very successful.

Career

D'Amato's initial success in Atlantic City began to grow when he opened up a restaurant and gambling hall called "Luigi's". He put the famous 500 Club under his ownership. He began working for corrupt Atlantic County

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Enoch "Nucky" Johnson and his

political organization A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in politica ...

. D'Amato was also an associate of

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, th ...

boss

Sam Giancana Salvatore Mooney Giancana (; born Gilormo Giangana; ; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966. Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 ...

and

New Orleans crime family The New Orleans crime family or New Orlean Mafia was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in the city of New Orleans. The family had a history of criminal activity dating back to the late nineteenth century. The family reached its height ...

boss Carlos Marcello.

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underb ...

Marco Reginelli, a leader in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

Philadelphia-South Jersey mob for years, allegedly sold the 500 Club to D’Amato.

The 500 Club

The 500 Club was allegedly a front for an illegal gambling operation. To draw gamblers, he had such big-name entertainers as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, Sammy Davis,

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nickn ...

perform at the club. He also managed a club in

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

for Sinatra, for which he got troubles from the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

and lost a lot of money when the casino commission linked Giancana to the Lake Tahoe operation and revoked its license in 1963. Mr. D'Amato was never convicted of a crime, and never spent a day in prison. Soon Atlantic City began to decline and the 500 Club, once the most popular nightclub in the nation, along with it. Skinny's wife suffered medical problems for five years and died in 1972. In June 1973, The 500 Club burned to the ground. Skinny, with scant insurance, lost about $2 million on the fire. He never recovered — financially, emotionally or spiritually. D'Amato also owned 13% of the Cal Neva Lodge and Casino in

Crystal Bay, Nevada Crystal Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 305 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2010, it ...

. Giancana was also a silent partner in the resort, in which D'Amato also acted as Giancana's representative.

Personal life and family

D'Amato married Betty Jane Creamer on June 4, 1949. The couple had two children and remained married until Creamer's death in 1972. In 1976, their son Angelo was charged with the murder of a co-worker at the D'Amato home in

Ventnor Ventnor () is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the se ...

. After his release from prison, Angelo was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison on October 7, 1983, for the murder of 28-year-old Keerans Carter in 1981.

Death

D'Amato died on June 5, 1984, of a heart attack. His longtime close friend, entertainer

, served as a pallbearer at his funeral. He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery and Chapel Mausoleum in Mays Landing.

In popular culture

D'Amato is portrayed by Robert Morelli in the television biopic about

and

, titled ''

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1945 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin w ...

'' (2002).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amato, Paul 1908 births 1984 deaths American casino industry businesspeople American gangsters of Italian descent Chicago Outfit New Orleans crime family Philadelphia crime family People from Atlantic City, New Jersey Nucky Johnson's Organization Nightclub owners Burials in New Jersey