By Larry Henry

A former Las Vegas mobster and the daughter of a Hollywood gangster who was Bugsy Siegel’s partner are among the featured guests for the first-ever MobWorld Summit, to be held in Las Vegas from June 15-17.

Several panelists who were active during the Mob’s heyday in Las Vegas, including former mobster Frank Cullotta, will discuss “the real story” behind the blockbuster 1995 movie “Casino.” The full list of panels, including dates and times, will be released soon.

The Summit is open to the public. Tickets, which include admission to panel discussions at the Plaza hotel-casino and a reception at The Mob Museum, are available by clicking here. 

Among the participants in panel discussions at the Plaza:

Frank Cullotta: Former underboss in Las Vegas for Anthony Spilotro, the Chicago Outfit’s enforcer in Southern Nevada, Cullotta oversaw the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang and now is an author and tour guide in Las Vegas.

Luellen Smiley: Daughter of Allen Smiley, a Los Angeles underworld figure seated on the sofa with Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel the night in 1947 when Siegel was shot to death in Beverly Hills, Luellen Smiley is the author of “Cradle of Crime,” a true-crime book exploring her journey of self-discovery in coming to grips with her notorious father’s past.

Gary Jenkins: An author, attorney and former Kansas City Police Department detective credited in the book “Casino” with helping expose the Kansas City-Las Vegas casino skimming connection, Jenkins runs the Gangland Wire website and podcast. His Gangland Wire partner Aaron Gnirk also will be in attendance.

Ronald Fino: The son of a high-ranking Buffalo Mafia figure, Fino, now an author, became one of the most important undercover operatives in FBI and CIA history. HIs life is the subject of the upcoming documentary “Mr. Undercover” by Swedish filmmaker Thomas Salme.

Cathy Scott: An investigative reporter and author of the true-crime book “Murder of a Mafia Daughter” about the killing of Susan Berman, the daughter of a Mob boss who ran the Flamingo hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Scott also co-wrote “Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography” with the former drug kingpin.

J. Michael Niotta: The grandson of former Los Angeles crime boss Jack Dragna, Niotta, who also is an accomplished musician, is the author of “The Los Angeles Sugar Ring: Inside the World of Old Money, Bootleggers & Gambling Barons,” a highly acclaimed look at organized crime in Southern California.

Bill Friedman: A global gaming expert and the only person ever to manage two Las Vegas Strip casinos simultaneously, Friedman is the author of “30 Illegal Years to the Strip,” considered the definitive book on the gangsters who built the Las Vegas Strip and an invaluable resource on U.S. Mob history overall.

Pamela Payton: A former Miss Nevada World, Payton also was a co-host of “The Frank Rosenthal Show,” featuring Chicago bookie and Las Vegas mobster Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, whose criminal exploits, and tragic love life, became the focal point of the movie “Casino.”

Casey Robert McBride: A Mob historian and authority on racketeer Frank Costello, McBride specializes in multimedia reporting and is curator of the popular Uncle Frank’s Place website, Facebook page and podcast. He also is an editor of the National Crime Syndicate website, where the Uncle Frank’s Place page appears.

The Summit kicks off Friday evening, June 15, with an informal meet-and-greet at the Plaza hotel-casino, and then continues on Saturday, June 16, with panel discussions at the Plaza and a reception and tour at The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas. The guest of honor at The Mob Museum reception is Richard Bryan, a former Nevada governor and U.S. senator.

Panel discussions will resume at the Plaza on Sunday, June 17.

With interest in the Mob at an all-time high, judging by the huge number of participants in various online Mafia fan sites, the purpose of the Summit is to bring together the nation’s top Mob experts in an annual event to discuss Mob history with anyone who has an interest in the topic. This is the inaugural Summit.

As originally envisioned, the Summit will move annually to cities across the country that have a significant Mafia history.

For more, visit the “Las Vegas Mafia History” and “MobWorld” Facebook group pages.

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