Question of the Day - 28 June 2025

Piero’s Italian Cuisine was founded under that name in 1982 by Freddie Glusman. It moved to its present location at 355 Convention Center Dr., just west of Paradise Road across from the Convention Center, from Karen Avenue in 1988. Its current location was formerly the Villa d’Este, whose regulars included volatile Mob enforcer Tony "the Ant" Spilotro. And as Piero’s somewhat euphemistically puts it on its website, "It quickly became a hangout for … some of those businessmen in the casino industry with Italian surnames, the ‘local color’ guys."

It was a favorite hangout of Frank Sinatra's. 

The Dec. 10, 2006, New York Times described Piero’s as "an upscale Italian restaurant decorated in a style known as Mob Vegas and frequented by local wiseguys, as well as by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci during the filming of Casino." Piero’s also figured in Casino as one of the film’s many locations, for the scene where Joe Pesci pushes Sharon Stone out the back door.

Owner Glusman, now 88, is no stranger to show business. He was married to singer/actress Diahann Carroll in 1972, when she was on the rebound from a broken engagement to David Frost. Carroll cited Glusman’s "violent and jealous behavior" as the cause of their eventual split.

Later, Glusman was quoted as saying, "The boys still come in here, but now the FBI follows them in."

Then he changed his tune, complaining to local gossip columnist Norm Clarke (who died a few weeks ago) that his restaurant "isn't a mobster place." He added, "Thanks for the publicity." Black Book member Joey Cusumano is another "local-color guy" who has enjoyed a meal or two at Piero’s.

Piero's has been the scene of numerous less-than-friendly encounters, including a reported violent altercation involving Bob Stupak, his daughter Summer, and three men, one of whom was  Benny Behnen, son of then-Binion’s owner Becky Behnen. Another episode also involved Benny Behnen, along with Ted Binion's girlfriend at the time Sandy Murphy and "two unidentified NBA coaches. … Murphy had a clump of hair ripped from her scalp as she was trying to escape her assailant."

Glusman's son Evan has also run afoul of law enforcement, most recently in late April when he was arrested for "providing outdated, inaccurate, and/or altered trust documents" to a bank in pursuit of an authorized $1.5 million loan secured by Piero's. Freddie Glusman was understandably irritated by the development and fired Evan from his position at Piero's. Then Evan texted a manager that he was drinking, going home to get his gun, and "killing them" in the middle of the restaurant. (It wasn't reported whom or how many of "them" he was referring to.) A judge ordered Evan Glusman to stay away from the restaurant and his father. 

Shortly thereafter, Piero's was sold to the owner of Siegel's Bagelmania, David Siegel. Old friends, the pair have called the transaction a partnership; Freddy retains ownership of the land, while Siegel will run the restaurant.  

There are plenty of other similar stories about Piero's, but we'll just end this QoD by saying that we like Piero's for its eggplant parmesan and veal scaloppine Marsala.