I interviewed Frank Rosenthal in 2004. He was 75, living in Boca Ratan, retired but working as an advisor for online sportsbook Intertops.com. He was still passionate about sports betting, life and gambling; colorful and charismatic, with lots to say. Here’s the interview.
“I can’t tell you exactly when I made my first bet but I was 16 years old and it was a winner – which is always dangerous.”
Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal is an American icon. He brought sports betting to Las Vegas. He introduced female croupiers to the casinos. Robert De Niro played him. He was the mob’s man in Sin City.
On October 13, 2008, Frank Rosenthal died of a heart attack, aged 79. He should have died 26 years earlier.
He survived an attempted car bomb assassination; dodging death, only because of a metal plate under his driving seat; put there to correct a manufacturing imbalance on his 1981 Cadillac Eldorado.
The attempted assassination was portrayed in the movie Casino, much of which is based on a true story and events that actually happened.
No one knows who planted the car bomb. It could have been his childhood friend and mafia soldier Anthony Spilotro.
It could have been someone who knew, what we all know now: Rosenthal was an informer.
Had it been any other car, Rosenthal would have died. Another mob hit, in the car park of Tony Roma’s, at E. Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, on October 4, 1982.
He would never have made it to both California and Boca Ratan, where he spent his retirement years on the fairways of Florida.
Lady Luck spared his life. It’s ironic that she would come to his rescue, considering the utter contempt he had for her.
Professional gamblers are a rare breed; a very rare breed. If you always beat the book, eventually the book will either offer you a job or ban you for life.
Rosenthal was the best. He knew how to pick winners; not at random, not with a hunch or a feeling. He learned very quickly that luck was for losers.
Rosenthal was all about the form. He could spot a weakness.
It might be an obscure college game; the shooting guard is recovering from food poisoning.
He’s off form. That’s the weakness. That’s the edge. That’s the margin. That’s where you find the advantage. That’s where you make your play. The hole in the line.
How do you consistently pick winners every week?
“Early on, I decided I was good. I had a little bit of beginner’s luck but I soon found out it was short-lived and reality set in. It actually took me many, many, years to really be able to objectively say: I had an edge.
“As a professional handicapper, you have to become very unemotional and always practice objectivity. You have to determine that you have, what we call, ‘value’ – ‘line value’. That’s how a professional handicapper works.
“Naturally, when it comes down to it, ‘the value’ is subjective. If – over a period of time – you become successful, and you win, it’s no longer subjective – it’s a fact.
“The ‘gut feeling’ element exists when you determine that you have an advantage versus the line.”
Rosenthal was born and raised on Chicago’s West Side. He started gambling at high school.
Obsessed with information, he subscribed to college magazines and newspapers across the country, to get the details that could make the difference. Who’s playing? Who’s partying? Who’s injured?
By the time he was 19, he was working for Bill Kaplan’s sports service, Angel Kaplan, providing the line for bookmakers and players.
He knew how to pick winners and the mob bosses loved him for it. Everyone made money when Frank was picking winners.
Although retired, Rosenthal never stopped looking for the elusive ‘hole in the line’.
Do you enjoy watching the game or are you just looking for the action?
“No, I’m looking at a game. I’m trying to recognize the superiority of one team versus the other and looking for perfection – which you seldom find. There’s so much contact. It’s almost like legalized mayhem in the NFL. It’s war.
“Most of time it’s really study, study, study. I handicap and provide the lines. I’m always striving to get as fine as one can get. I try to take two teams and bring them together, in an effort to provide what we would call a ‘dead heat’.
“I’m not 24/7 – but I’m pretty close. It’s non-stop because there is always something going on and you have to stay current. You can’t rest your mind. You have to review box scores and stay on top.”
Do you gamble?
“On occasion: either for one or two reasons. If it’s a major sporting event, that I have a lot of interest in, or if I can determine that there is a ‘hole in the line’ – meaning a weakness. If I can recognize that, I would be inclined to make a wager.
“Some sports are more interesting than others. Baseball is the most boring. It’s just pitcher to catcher for the most part. In the average nine inning baseball game, there are nine minutes and 55 seconds of actual action. The game takes two hours and 45 minutes on average. So – to me – that is boring.
“Football is a great sport from a spectators’ stand point, as is high level basketball – both in the NBA and the NCAA. Hockey is wonderful – but TV just can’t cover the action. My favorite would have to be the NFL.”
In the 1970s, Rosenthal, and his old friend Antony Spilotro, headed to Las Vegas.
Rosenthal brought his gambling expertise to max out the skim and boost revenue. Spilotro was the muscle, dominating organized crime in the city.
Rosenthal was in charge of four casinos: the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda, and Marina.
Although his criminal record meant he was boss by proxy. Las Vegas was under mob control. It was a different place back then.
How does Las Vegas today compare with the Las Vegas of the 1970s?
“In the 1970s, it was less crowded. It was more of a family situation. Today, Las Vegas has become very commercial. It’s a corporate world and that’s the big difference. Back in the late 1960s and 1970s, it was more of a ‘personalized’ thing.
“I don’t think the casino operators are any smarter today but they have to think as a corporation. We didn’t have to think like that when it came to gaming.
“Today – in Las Vegas – everything is clocked. You must play a certain number of hours at a blackjack table to be eligible for either a comped room, or a special rate, or even a dinner. I am not an advocate of that.
“We didn’t have to clock people to determine whether players would be entitled to special perks.”
Rosenthal introduced sports betting to Las Vegas. It was a huge success and copied by every casino on the Strip. As was his decision to introduce female croupiers.
Both innovations increased revenue but there was a risk associated with sports betting that didn’t exist with traditional casino games.
“There’s no chance of a player beating the casino in the long run. It’s scientifically proven. Sports wagering – however – cannot be proven by man.
“The best weapon in sports betting is information. You can use this to evaluate and determine if there is a weakness in any particular game.”
“I accept that I am categorized as a perfectionist. I’m not certain that I always attain what I am trying to do. Perfection is the goal, at all times.”
For two decades, Rosenthal and the FBI played cat and mouse. A few months after he died, it was revealed that the mouse spent a lot of time talking to the cat.
Rosenthal was an informer for the FBI, with the code name Achilles.
Although Rosenthal was from Chicago and extremely well connected, he was Jewish; he could never be a made man (initiated member of the mafia).
He probably informed to keep his options open. A gambling man betting both sides at the same time.
Rosenthal was indicted multiple times but never charged.
In the Land of the Free, only certain states allow citizens to gamble their own money. The hypocrisy of the situation irritated Rosenthal.
“This country is spinning the wheels when it pretends gaming is illegal and immoral. I don’t see it that way. We’re encouraged to bet on the lottery, at the race track, and on the greyhounds. Everything is fair game, with the exception of sports wagering, which is legal in only one location in this country: Nevada.
“The one word that comes to my mind very quickly is – hypocrisy. To me, it really is hypocrisy at its highest level. And that’s what it is.”
Of course, 20 years have passed since this interview and now it’s possible to gamble at the best online gambling sites across the US.
Gambling has had an association with organized crime. Is this the reason why the prohibition exists?
“No – I don’t think that is the case. I think the word ‘gambling’ doesn’t have ‘respectability’, in this country, in the 21st century, and that’s strange. I can’t explain it.
“I think one thing for certain: the general population, in this country, loves to gamble. They just love it. They’ve been doing it for decades – if not longer. They’re going to continue to gamble, whether it is legal or not. In the UK – it has been proved that gaming can be successful – and regulated – with few problems.
“The political tone is just amazing. The government can advocate gaming in many forms and – quite frankly – your chances of winning at the race track are much less than on a football, basketball or baseball game.”
Can gambling add something to a game?
“Oh, it does. I can give you a situation: the attendance on any major sport in this country, without gaming, would – in my judgement – drop dramatically, by no less than 25%.
“You look at any stadium in this country – whether it is baseball or football – most people would agree that probably about three or four, out of every 10, would have a wager on the game they are watching. That’s a very high percentage.”
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Has Internet gaming changed the face of betting in the US?
“No doubt about it. I think the phrase: ‘you can bet in your pyjamas’, as well as the convenience, and the speed, is what makes it so enticing. To a high degree, the Internet has been responsible for the tremendous popularity of gaming.
“You can’t wager on the Internet in Las Vegas. But you can call Antigua, with virtually no fear of any legal problems. This country is spinning the wheels, when they pretend that gaming is illegal and immoral. I don’t see it that way.
“Casinos in this country are also on the rise – especially with the Native Americans; who are building them as we speak.”
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Rosenthal is a Las Vegas legend. He’s up there with Bugsy Siegel, Kirk Kerkorian, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and Howard Hughes.
His influence is huge. He helped lay the foundations for a more corporate Sin City. He set new standards, made the good great, and understood the value of everything.
In 2004, aged 75, Rosenthal was still giving tips and picking winners. Asked, early in the season who his NFL favorites were, he said this:
“Certainly: New England, the Eagles, and the Panthers. To really answer that question, we need to get into the exhibition season and see some of the newcomers in action. It’ll be much easier to offer you an opinion nearer to the kick off.”
“New England is the favorite but the Panthers are now recognized as a class team, by virtue of what they did last year. They move up the chart. New England still has the personnel to have the best chance of a repeat. They are double tough!”
Rosenthal was wrong about the Panthers but the Super Bowl for the NFL 2004 season was between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Two outta three ain’t bad and, let’s face it, who’s gonna argue with Frank?