Anthony Cornero Stralla known as "the Admiral" and "Tony the Hat" was a bootlegger and gambling entrepreneur in Southern California from the 1920s through the 1950s.
30 Facts About Anthony Cornero
1.
2.
Antonio Cornero was born in Lequio Tanaro, Province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy.
3.
Anthony Cornero's father died a few years later and his mother married Luigi Stralla, a former suitor from Italy.
4.
In 1923, with Prohibition in effect, Anthony Cornero became a rum-runner.
5.
Anthony Cornero's clientele included many high-class customers and night clubs.
6.
Anthony Cornero would unload the liquor beyond the three-mile limit into his speedboats, which would bring it to the Southern California beaches.
7.
Anthony Cornero boarded a ship for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and fled the US.
8.
In 1931, shortly after his release from prison, Anthony Cornero established the Ken Tar Insulation Company.
9.
Anthony Cornero then moved his operations to a location in Culver City, California.
10.
Federal authorities raided the Culver City site, but found no evidence of bootlegging; Anthony Cornero was probably warned ahead of time.
11.
In 1936, Anthony Cornero decided to open a shipboard gaming operation off the Southern California coast.
12.
Anthony Cornero purchased two large ships and converted them into luxury casinos at a cost of $300,000.
13.
The success of Anthony Cornero's floating casinos brought outrage from California officials.
14.
Reportedly, Anthony Cornero turned the ship's fire hoses on the police when they attempted to board and declared they were committing "piracy on the high seas".
15.
Anthony Cornero later tried to reopen land-based illegal casinos in Los Angeles, but was thwarted by mobster Mickey Cohen.
16.
In Las Vegas, Anthony Cornero contacted his friend Orlando Silvagni, owner of the Apache Hotel.
17.
Anthony Cornero made a deal with Silvagni to lease the hotel casino and rename it the "SS Rex".
18.
However, one councilman then changed his vote, the motion passed, and Anthony Cornero got his license.
19.
Anthony Cornero made plans to invest in Baja California in Mexico.
20.
Gravely wounded, Anthony Cornero underwent surgery that night and managed to survive the shooting.
21.
Anthony Cornero bought a 40-acre piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip and filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to sell stock in the hotel corporation.
22.
Not to be stopped, Anthony Cornero came up with a new plan.
23.
Anthony Cornero asked his friend Milton B "Farmer" Page, another Las Vegas casino owner, to take over the project.
24.
In 1955, Anthony Cornero made the first of several presentations seeking loans from Moe Dalitz, owner of the Desert Inn hotel and casino, and Dalitz' partner, New York mobster Meyer Lansky.
25.
On July 31,1955, Anthony Cornero told an investors' meeting in Las Vegas, "we need another $800,000 to stock the casino with cash and pay the liquor and food suppliers".
26.
Later that day, Anthony Cornero was playing craps in the Desert Inn Casino.
27.
The rumors gained credence when Anthony Cornero's body was removed from the casino floor before anyone contacted the Clark County Coroner or the Clark County Sheriff's Department.
28.
Anthony Cornero's drinking glass was taken and washed; sheriff's deputies never had the chance to examine it.
29.
Anthony Cornero was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
30.
Anthony Cornero is credited with the lucrative concept of putting slot machines in the hotel lobby to lure guests as they passed by.