Irvine Ranch dev

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Prior to buying Paramount, Charlie Bluhdorn had considered moving into Nevada where Sidney Korshak also held sway. A new era began in Las Vegas with the opening of Caesar’s Palace in 1966. A style one comedian called not “exactly Roman more kind of early Sicilian” it remains the last of the early casinos although it has been entirely rebuilt. Jack Ruby’s lawyer Melvin Belli rolled the first dice.

The site of Caesar’s Palace was responsible for making and breaking a series of fortunes even before the casino was built. On Saturday, January 11, 1959 Myford Irvine begged the trustees of his estate for $5 million. The heir to the massive Irvine Ranch, founded by his Irish grandfather, then committed suicide with a shotgun. Speculation at the time was that his death had something to do with the Caesar’s Palace site. Irvine was a friend of Mickey Cohen who considered him “my man in Orange Country on certain propositions”, according to Cohen's autobiography.

Myford Irvine was also an early supporter of Richard Nixon. It was through Irvine that Cohen organized a fund raising dinner for Nixon when he first ran for Senate in 1950. Cohen donated $5,000 personally and provided space for “Nixon for Congress” headquarters. Cohen also held a dinner that was attended by a range of organized crime members. In order to reach the fundraising goal Cohen ordered the doors locked. Nixon made his speech and Murray Chotiner collected the money. In 1962 journalist Drew Pearson used the Cohen connection against Nixon, which was partially why he lost the race for governor.