Question of the Day - 27 October 2017

Benny and Francis “Teddy” Jane Binion had five children. In age order: Barbara, Jack, Brenda, Lonnie “Ted,” and Becky.

Teddy Jane died in 1994, having survived Benny by five years.

Barbara Binion Fechser had three sons. In 1983 at age 49, she died of a drug overdose, an apparent suicide. One of her sons, Key Fechser, named after his father, died in 2009 at the age of 55.  

Jack Binion turned 80 this year. He became president of Binion’s Horseshoe in 1963 at age 26. He sold his interest in the family casino to his youngest sister Becky in 1998, then opened riverboat casinos outside Nevada, which he sold to Harrah’s. In 2006, he became chairman of Wynn International and helped open the Wynn Macau. He has since retired, but remains a consultant with Wynn Resorts.

Brenda Binion Michael, the classic middle kid, went her own way; she was much more enamored of the ranch than the casino. She’s been involved with horses her whole life and today at age 76, she lives on a ranch outside Amarillo, Texas. She was named the Tri-State Fair Cowgirl of the Year in 1998 and received the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award from the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2015. Her only daughter, Mindy, is married to saddle-bronc rider Clint Johnson.

Ted Binion, of course, died of an overdose of heroin, his favorite drug for nearly 40 years, in September 1998 at age 55. His live-in girlfriend Sandy Murphy, and her lover Rick Tabish, were at first convicted of his murder, but were acquitted in a second trial. Ted and his ex-wife Doris had one daughter, Bonnie.

Sandra Murphy spent three and a half years in prison before being released after the Nevada Supreme Court found fault with the trial on a number of technicalities, overturned the murder convictions, and ordered a new trial. Following her acquittal, Sandy dropped out of the public eye. In 2006, a mutual friend introduced her to Kevin Pieropan, the owner of an art gallery in Laguna Beach, California, whom she married. They work together in the gallery and she says that she “has a very happy life,” plays golf, boats, and surfs.

After the retrial, Rick Tabish had to finish serving his sentence for his additional crimes, including extortion and theft. He was paroled in 2010 after spending 11 years in prison. He immediately moved back to Montana and at last report was back in the family’s petroleum business, paying them back for the $3 million they spent on his defense.

Becky Binion Behnen, the youngest of the siblings, wound up owning the Horseshoe after a somewhat hostile takeover, buying out her brother Jack’s share. Becky, unfortunately, presided over the end of the 52-year era of the Binions owning the Horseshoe when federal marshals shut it down in early January 2004; the Horseshoe owed $3 million in pension and health-insurance benefits for around 400 union members. Three days later, Becky sold the casino, hotel, and World Series of Poker to Harrah’s for an estimated $50 million, of which more than $30 million was debt. The last we heard, she was writing a book about her family. She and her husband Nick have two sons: Benny  and Jack.