As chief executive of the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina, Lefty Rosenthal revolutionized sports betting by putting the book inside the casinos.
Previously sports books were sordid operations located off the strip. They catered to the lowest common denominators: pimps, prostitutes, loan sharks and betting degenerates. They smelled like stale cigarettes, cheap aftershave, bourbon and piss.
The Stardust became the capitol of the sports betting world.
Lefty Rosenthal hosted his own television show with guests including: Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Robert Conrad, O.J. Simpson, Muhammed Ali, Tommy Lasorda, Billy Martin, Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Siegfried & Roy, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Telly Savalas, Liberace, and Bobo the Chimp.
He introduced female black jack dealers, doubling the Stardust’s revenue in the first 12 months.
He setup the casino sports book with stadium seating and couches, like a living room.
“Take off your jacket,” he’d say, “stay awhile.”
He was the first to implement Power Rankings as part of the linemaking procees, saying: “Without Power Rankings how would you know who everyone is going to pick?”
Lefty implemented his “Plus /Minus” ™ system enabling the book, in a glance, to notice trends, patterns, failures, successes and avoid future setups, fixes, or pitfalls.
