John L. Smith thinks Fidel Castro helped solidify Las Vegas as a gaming town.
Not that the Cuban leader, who died last week at the age of 90, particularly liked gambling. In fact, it was his antipathy for it - and the mob bosses who ran casinos in Havana - that helped Las Vegas the most.
The day after Castro and his revolutionaries ousted then president Fulgencio Batista, the new regime closed the casinos and asked people like Meyer Lansky and Moe Dalitz to leave. Well, maybe they didn't exactly ask.
And where else did they have to go besides Las Vegas - the biggest city in the country in the only state in the country where gambling was legal.
They brought with them casino workers and entertainers, who established what is still the second largest Cuban community outside of Miami.
John says this made Las Vegas stronger, much like the anti-gaming crusades by Senator Estes Kefauver made Las Vegas stronger by investigating organized crime and routing out fledgling gaming operations in other cities and states.
"This falls under the umbrella of my theory that what is controversial and often bad for America is actually really good for Las Vegas," Smith said.
Other Stuff On John L. Smith's Mind:
Black Mountain Institute celebrated its 10th Anniversary. How does that world-renowned literary institution square with the "Vegas" identity?
Smith: It absolutely does not square with it. If you're looking at Las Vegas in the rearview mirror, it does not square with Las Vegas. If you're looking at the Las Vegas that can be, it is everything about it.
There are writers like Charles Bock whose family runs a pawn shop to this day in Las Vegas. His best seller "Beautiful Children." He was a former fellow and real success story,
And Tom Bissell who benefited greatly from his time at BMI before writing best sellers. Vu Tran, who went through the MFA program, benefited a great deal. Olivia Claire who not only writes poetry but also novels and nonfiction.
Beverly Rogers has bet heavily on BMI to the tune of $30 million last year:
Smith: She is fully invested. She has done her own program and invested at that level. She is really, really all in, as you would say, to help make the program better and better as time goes on.
Father John McVeigh died in November at the age of 90 and he was a Las Vegas icon in his own right:
Smith: He sure was. He was a sweet guy. John McVeigh was a Catholic priest who spent most of his life...in Nevada. He was up at the diocese in Reno to start with, but he made stops in places like Wells, Dayton and all these other places.
He participated in helping keep the church in Ely open and running. And devoted much of his career to Catholic relief services, which of course facilitate helping the poor and needy. He was really a dedicated soul.
John L. Smith, commentator
