Tag: blood aces book

Fort Worth

Two of the biggest stars in the Taylor Sheridan universe are teaming up on a new series about Benny Binion, a notoriously colorful character who ruled over illegal gambling in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the Depression era.

Sylvester Stallone, who stars in “Tulsa King” as a present-day mob captain operating in Oklahoma, and Cole Hauser, who played ranch foreman and bruiser Rip Wheeler on “Yellowstone,” are partnering on the project, Deadline reported Monday.

The series is an adaption of the 2014 book by Doug J. Swanson, “Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker.”

Stallone is executive producing, with Hauser set to star as Binion in the MGM Television series. No details were shared on where the series will film or when it will release.

The book charts the rise of Binion — nicknamed “The Cowboy” — as he built a moonshine and gambling empire from Dallas to Fort Worth, leaving behind a few bodies along the way. He fled to Las Vegas in the 1940s, established Binion’s Horseshoe casino and spent time in federal prison over tax evasion. He ran his casino with Texas-style frontier justice, and started whats now the World Series of Poker.

“By nearly every report, Binion was a warmhearted family man who happened to savor his reputation as a coldblooded killer,” the New York Times wrote in a 2005 story with the headline, “The Baddest Good Guy You’d Ever Seen.”

Longtime fans of Billy Bob’s Texas may remember that its founder, Billy Bob Barnett, erected a 12-foot bronze statue of his good friend Binion outside the honky-tonk’s entrance. The statue has been in Vegas since 1988.

Binion died of heart failure on Christmas Day in 1989 at 85 years old.

Swanson, a former Dallas Morning News journalist and current University of Pittsburgh professor, said this is the fifth time the book has been optioned since release. But this time, he’s encouraged that something will come to fruition given the major names attached.

“Can’t argue that these dudes haven’t been around and put out a lot of great work,” Swanson told the Star-Telegram on Thursday. “I’m really happy and encouraged by that. Nothing to feel bad about at this point.”

‘Blood Aces’ coming to the small screen

Swanson is unsure how Stallone and Hauser found the book, but said he received a call from his agent in May 2025 saying that the duo was interested in an adaption.

From there, as most things go in Hollywood, there were plenty of negotiations back and forth from agents and lawyers. Swanson said he was mostly on the outside of things, just waiting for someone to send him a contract.

Under that contract, Swanson is listed a co-executive producer, which means that he will be available to answer any questions from the show’s staff. That’s as far as his reign goes; he will not be giving Hauser tips on how to portray Binion.

“That ain’t happening,” Swanson joked.

“Blood Aces” was first optioned for adaption by Relativity Media right after it released.

The company filed for bankruptcy shortly after that and Swanson said it took a couple of years to get the rights back. Next up was Friendly Films, which produced USA Network’s “Queen of the South,” but after a few years that didn’t work out either.

There were some smaller production companies in the mix after that, but this time around, the Stallone-Hauser combo seems to be the strongest thus far.

“The one with the greatest track record and the biggest star power,” Swanson said.

Benny Binion’s North Texas reign

Swanson’s journey with Binion began when he covered police for the Dallas Times Herald in the early 1980s.

Sometimes there were murmurs around the police station from older officers about what Binion got up to back in the day. Swanson said he filed that away and didn’t pick up the story again until the early 2010s, when he was looking for something to write about.

To Swanson’s surprise, Binion was a major criminal figure around the Metroplex in the 1930s and early 1940s.

“He was a big deal, and then he just got run out of town,” Swanson said.

Binion controlled much of the gambling in Dallas and was part owner of the Top O’ Hill Terrace illegal casino in Arlington. He also had some action in Fort Worth on Jacksboro Highway.

After a new sheriff and district attorney were elected in Dallas County, Binion fled to Las Vegas.

There were a few casinos around Las Vegas when Binion arrived, but he turned them into a major industry. He also created the World Series of Poker, which has been ongoing since the 1970s.

Even when he was writing the book, Swanson envisioned the Binion story as a television show. Now, Stallone and Hauser are rolling the dice.