The Wheels Keep Spinning: Recent Episodes
Harry Sultan
A three-part audio documentary about the true origin of the Las Vegas Strip found in a small racing village in Upstate New York
The Wheels Keep Spinning is broken up into three episodes between 15 and 20 minutes. Each one focuses on a different main character and different gambling establishment. Each episode builds upon the previous one, so it is recommended to listen to them in the order below.
You can also listen to all three episode if you subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by clicking here.
In this first episode we learn about John Morrissey, an Irish immigrant, founder of the NYC gang The Dead Rabbits, heavyweight boxing champion, and US Congressman who in the 1860s opened two of Saratoga Springs' most historic establishments; his race track made Saratoga America's premier horse-racing town since its inception, but his gambling hall known as the Saratoga Clubhouse set a new precedent for luxury gambling and inspired other such locales, eventually resulting in the Las Vegas Strip.
Find out about how Arnold Rothstein, the man considered to be the "Grandfather of Organized Crime" set up a gambling resort in Saratoga Springs that changed the way Americans looked at gambling forever.
In this final episode, hear how Benjamin Bugsy Siegel used his experience working under Arnold Rothstein and alongside Meyer Lansky to inspire his groundbreaking casino on the Las Vegas Strip that changed the course of gambling in our country forever.