Woman’s royal heritage omitted

One of the Four Queens died, yet that didn’t make her obituary.

Michele Goffstein Teriano was one of the four daughters of Ben Goffstein, who built the Four Queens. When it opened in 1966 in downtown Las Vegas, he had proudly named it after his four girls.

Yet either she, or whoever wrote her obituary, didn’t feel that bit of Las Vegas history was worth mentioning.

Teriano, the eldest sister, was 65 when she died Jan. 14.

When her mother, Dottie Goffstein, died in 2005 at 81, Teriano told the Review-Journal’s Howard Stutz that her parents were more excited about naming the hotel in honor of the girls than the girls were. “My father printed business cards for all of us. I was the Queen of Spades because I was the oldest.”

Benita Moore was the Queen of Clubs, Faith Goffstein was the Queen of Hearts, and Hope Goffstein was the Queen of Diamonds.

He printed cards for his wife, a former showgirl, identifying her as the “Joker.”

The Goffsteins moved to Las Vegas in 1945, and Ben became known as a hard-driving pioneer of the gaming industry. Like most of our gaming pioneers, he had some questionable associations.

Historian Michael Green wrote in 2010 that Ben Goffstein was once an employee of the Hearst newspapers “who was involved in circulation wars in several cities; these were particularly rough, and Goffstein acquired a reputation for organized-crime connections. He was part of the team that took over the Flamingo after Bugsy Siegel’s death, and he later moved on to the Riviera.”

He was at the Riv from 1955 until 1963 and became president after the 1958 murder of mobster Gus Greenbaum.

His oldest daughter was a teenager when the Four Queens opened, she was 20 when her father died of cancer in 1967 at the age of 59.

Efforts to reach family members last week were unsuccessful. Hotel officials never got back to me after I explained my subject.

I wanted to ask the two remaining sisters, Faith and Hope, why being one of the Four Queens didn’t warrant mentioning. And did all the daughters feel like that?

Teriano’s obituary mentioned her parents’ names, but not that her father created the Four Queens.

Teriano’s obituary was minimal with few details of her life. Donations were suggested in her name to the Nevada SPCA, reflecting her love of dogs.

Her picture showed her with a generous smile. Those who left comments in her online guest book described her as warm, loving and affectionate, someone who enriched lives.

After reading the tributes, she seemed like someone I would have enjoyed knowing, although I hadn’t heard of her before someone mentioned her death.

But there was an outpouring of love for the Henderson woman on the guest book.

Vickie Wood-Wallen wrote that Teriano changed her life. “I am beautiful today because of your love. That one afternoon so many years ago when you taught a skinny 12 year old with stringy hair and thick glasses that the secret to being truly beautiful on the outside is knowing and believing that you are truly beautiful. You were right, your best feature was on the inside.”

Craig Jolley wrote that he went to Paradise Elementary School with her and they played kickball together in the fifth grade. He remembered her as pretty and sweet and six inches taller. “I couldn’t help having a crush on her which of course she knew. I should have felt intimidated, but instead of avoiding me, she turned it into a little joke, sent me a hilarious valentine, and we stayed good friends with no wound to my heart.”

No one mentioned the Four Queens.

Perhaps being a decent human being and loving family and dogs was more important than having a casino named after you 47 years ago.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.