Pro sports bettor Lem Banker’s colorful life fit for silver screen

Lem Banker’s 94th birthday was Tuesday, when his family hosted a celebration of his colorful life as a renowned professional sports bettor.

At the gathering on the outdoor patio at Dom DeMarco’s, there was talk of a movie being made about Banker, who died Nov. 20 at his longtime Las Vegas home in Rancho Nevada Estates.

Banker’s daughter, Blaine Banker, said she has been contacted by a prominent Hollywood manager about the possible project. Her son, Jonathan Ribaste, said actor Colin Farrell has expressed interest in playing the role of his grandfather in his younger days.

Lem Banker was friends with athletes, celebrities and mobsters, including Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust and was portrayed by Robert De Niro in the Martin Scorsese movie “Casino.”

Lem and Lefty

If the film comes to fruition, there could be a couple of scenes featuring Rosenthal, whose friendship proved invaluable to Banker.

When I visited Lem at his home in 2019, he told me about the time he got an early morning tip that three starters for the Memphis State basketball team would not play that day.

Before the line moved, Banker called a Minneapolis bookmaker to get down on the game.

“I call and ask if I can make a little bet, like $2,000. He said, ‘Bet whatever you want.’ He was arrogant,” Banker said. “So I said, ‘Can I bet $10,000?’ He said, ‘Bet whatever you want.’ I ended up betting $30,000.

“Naturally, I won the game, and he didn’t want to pay me.”

Enter Rosenthal.

“I told Lefty, who was at the Stardust. I had just helped him get his work card from Ralph Lamb, the sheriff,” Banker said. “There was a book on the Strip called the Rose Bowl. Lefty said, ‘Lem, don’t worry, the money will be in your account tomorrow.’ Sure enough, thirty grand was in there the next day.”

Banker’s relationship with Rosenthal began in the 1950s, two decades before Banker said he helped persuade Clark County authorities to issue Rosenthal a sheriff’s card so he could work in casinos despite his criminal record.

Chez Paree conspiracy

Las Vegas author Rob Miech devoted a chapter in his 2019 book, “Sports Betting for Winners,” to Banker, who revealed that Rosenthal was behind a notorious, unsolved incident that preceded the end of Oklahoma’s 28-game true road winning streak, the longest in the post-World War II era.

The Sooners, who compiled a record 47-game winning streak from 1953 to 1957, were 6-point favorites over Northwestern in their 1959 season opener. The line mysteriously dropped to 3 two days before the game as money — including a big bet by Banker — poured in on the Wildcats.

Oklahoma went to dinner the Thursday before the Saturday game at Chez Paree, a Chicago nightclub and mob hangout that hosted singers such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin.

More than 20 players, mostly starters, became violently ill. Nine of them had their stomachs pumped, and seven required an overnight stay at the hospital.

“We were sitting there having the fruit cocktail before the dinner, and all of the sudden people got up from the table … throwing up,” Jerry Thompson, a lineman on that team, told “The Norman Transcript.”

Several players still maintain that the team had been poisoned by gamblers. Federal authorities investigated, but no charges were filed. Northwestern whipped Oklahoma 45-13 in the worst defeat of coach Bud Wilkinson’s era.

Banker said Rosenthal was involved in the kitchen.

“Lefty was doin’ the cookin,’” he told Miech.

Baby steps

Four months later, Banker was almost broke when his wife, Debbie, gave birth to Blaine at Sunrise Hospital. He said he had to cash two $300 basketball bets to pay the hospital bills.

“Otherwise, the hospital might have kept her,” he said jokingly.

Going out in style

One of Banker’s claims to fame was that he never drew a regular paycheck in his life. That almost changed in 1964, when he had a bad run of luck and was considering finally getting “a straight job.”

He took his last $10,000 and put it on Southern California (+10) over Notre Dame in a college football game. He bought six of the best seats at the Los Angeles Coliseum and hired a limo to take his friends to the game.

“If I was going out, I was going out in style,” he said. “I figured if I won I’d stay in business as a gambler, and if I lost I’d try something else.”

The Trojans trailed 17-0 at halftime but scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to win 20-17.

Banker never looked back.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.