For four decades, organized crime families operated Las Vegas casinos as cash extraction machines. The "skim"—unreported revenue diverted before reaching the counting room—funded criminal enterprises across America while the "street tax" ensured mob discipline on the ground.

The Teamsters Pipeline

The mob's access to Las Vegas was financed primarily through the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund. Union boss Jimmy Hoffa and his successors funneled hundreds of millions in pension money to mob-controlled casino projects, with kickbacks flowing back to organized crime families.

The Mechanics of the Skim

Skimming operated through multiple channels. In the soft count (cash), money was removed before reaching the counting room. In the hard count (coins), scale weights were manipulated. Fill slips were falsified to show phantom payouts. The stolen cash was then couriered in suitcases to mob bosses in Kansas City, Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.

The Street Tax

Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro enforced the street tax—a levy on every criminal enterprise in Las Vegas. Burglars, loan sharks, drug dealers, and fences all paid tribute. Those who refused faced Spilotro's notorious enforcement, including the infamous "Hole in the Wall Gang's" activities.

Operation Strawman and the End

The FBI's Operation Strawman used wiretaps to document the entire skimming network. The resulting prosecutions sent top mob bosses to prison and effectively ended organized crime's control of Las Vegas. The Spilotro brothers were murdered by their own organization in 1986—the final chapter of the mob era.