What Happened to the Benny Binion Statue in Downtown Las Vegas?

Today's QoD [on Las Vegas statues] got me wondering what happened to the Benny Binion statue that was just off Fremont Street.

In 1984, five years before Benny Binion’s death at age 85, sculptor and cowgirl Deborah Copenhaver was commissioned by the Binion family to create a 15-foot-tall 2,800-pound bronze statue of the family patriarch on horseback. It was placed outside one the Horseshoe hotel-casino’s parking structure at the corner of Casino Center Drive and Ogden in downtown (one of the boundaries of Block 16, the original Las Vegas red-light district).

The statue was an apt symbol of the gangster and casino owner, whose nickname was “the Cowboy.” Binion was born on a farm in Texas, learned at a young age from his father how to trade horses, owned ranches in Montana where he raised rodeo horses, and was influential in getting the National Finals Rodeo to move to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City in 1985; that same year, he was named ProRodeo’s Man of Year by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

The statue remained on the downtown street corner for 23 years. In March 2008, shortly after he purchased the property for $32 million, Terry Caudill (owner of the Four Queens) agreed to a request from Michael Gaughan to move the statue to South Point.

Reportedly, Gaughan, son of another legendary downtown casino owner, Jackie, bought the statue from the Binion family for $1, with the intention of displaying it right outside the Equestrian Center at South Point.

As the South Point arena hosts rodeos, barrel racing, horse shows, and related events year round, it’s perhaps the most appropriate place in Las Vegas for the larger-than-life bronze statue of a mounted Benny “the Cowboy” Binion.

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Eileen Oct-07-2017

Benny Binion's statue

Was wondering why the general format of your QODs appear to wait until the very end to actually answer the question?  I understand that many answers cannot be answered with a short, one or two line response, but answering the question and then substantiating it with additional information would fill the need for "instant gratification" that I think many of us readers have, especially when the answers are very long. The response to this question says, at the end of the information, that the statue was bought "with the intention of displaying it right outside the Equestrian Center at South Point." Did the buyer follow through on that intent?  Many times you have a link to a picture that goes along with the QOD.  That would have been a nice touch for this response.
These comments are meant to be thought provoking and as much as they might sound like criticism, they aren't meant that way.  I love all things LVA.  Just wanted to share my thoughts.  Please don't drop my subscription.

Jeff Oct-07-2017

Is the statue really at the South Point?

I like the form of the answers. For the questions that interest me, the longer the answers are the more I like them. If the question were answered at the beginning of the answer, the background and history would seem anti-climactic. Telling this story chronologically seems like the correct way to tell it.

However, in this case, the question was not affirmatively answered. I, too, wondered about:

" Gaughan [...] bought the statue [...] with the  intention of displaying it right outside the Equestrian Center at South Point."

Yes, but did he follow through on his intention?

"it’s perhaps the most appropriate place"

Is the statue actually there now? The answer leaves one wondering. I have the feeling the author didn't have confirmation that the statue ever made it to The South Point. Or maybe the author just forgot to make it clear that the statue was installed in its new location.

Straski Oct-07-2017

Statue is at South Point

My wife and I visited South Point while driving south from the strip a couple of years ago and make it a habit to visit ever since. A lot of the time they have free equestrian events. Well worth the visit besides seeing the statue. Don't miss the bare back rigs on the wall. The place is huge. Free parking also.

Question of the Day - 07 October 2017

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