''The Green Felt Jungle'' is a 1963 book by

Ovid Demaris Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and Ed Reid. It exposes

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 ...

's dark underbelly, discussing the role of mobsters, prostitution, and political influence peddling in control of the city. It was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller for 23 weeks.

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mob, ...

Gus Greenbaum Gus Greenbaum (February 26, 1893 – December 3, 1958) was an American gangster in the casino industry, best known for taking over management of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after the murder of co-founder Bugsy Siegel. Early life Gustave " ...

and

Benny Binion Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 5, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. H ...

are among the well-known characters who make an appearance in ''The Green Felt Jungle''. An important contribution to the early history of the Las Vegas, the book documents a time prior to the transition from gangster control of the city to its clean-up, and purchase of the casinos by legitimate companies.

References

1963 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Non-fiction books about gambling Culture of Las Vegas Non-fiction books about organized crime Investigative journalism Collaborative non-fiction books {{crime-book-stub