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Balls: The True Life of Eddie Trascher, Gentleman Gangster
Eddie Trascher was a gentleman gangster but he never wanted to be part of the mob. For 50 years, from the pre-Castro Havana casinos to Los Angeles, Trascher stole from mob-owned casinos, scammed gangsters, and was one of the top bookies in the country. He capped his career as a confidential informant for Florida law enforcement and was the source for getting inside the Trafficante Mafia family. Balls is written by Scott Dietche and Ken Sanz. Sanz is a former Florida Department of Law enforcement special agent, and was Eddie's handler and friend for over 20 years.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2019
It is a bit of a stretch to say Eddie Trascher was a gangster. He was a gambler, con man, cheat, thief, and government informant; but not a gangster. Authors Deitche and Sanz try to portray him as rough and tumble, always ready to enforce his house rules; but that is not the same thing. The authors try simultaneously to connect him to Mickey Cohen and distance him from Mickey Cohen. If anything, the few chapters on Cohen were more informative about Cohen than some books. Trascher was always on the fringes of the underworld rather than in the thick of it.
Each chapter was as much about a scam as it was about Trascher. It appears that he went through life trying one scam after another to steal or cheat people out of their money. It is unusual that he flip flops (or the authors flip flop) between him running an honest game and stealing as much as he could. He was not consistent in his activities. The word "grifter" comes to mind. He would try running a liquor store, a hotel, a handbook, a counterfeit printing press, whatever. Whenever the business failed, he went to a casino and stole from the mob.
The strange chapters on Mickey Cohen stand out because the Trascher roundly trashes organized crime. Maybe he was just unhappy with Italian organized crime. He appears to have worked well with the Jewish racketeers like Cohen. There was something close to idol worship in the pages, so readers see an unabashedly pro-Cohen vision in the book. Readers unfamiliar with the brash gangster see something more akin to a hero than someone trying to stir the pot. There is a more human side to Cohen in the book. Trascher focuses on the man and his personality rather than his business. He is both honored and horrified that law enforcement and media connected him to Cohen. That friendship appears to be the basis for calling him a gangster.
Elsewhere, he has little if any connection to the mob. All the while stealing from the casinos, he claimed he was stealing from the mob. But the mob was not watching him. Pitt bosses and managers may have guessed he was stealing; but no one hauled him into a back room and broke his fingers as depicted in Casino. He heard about it; but it never happened to him. He was just that good at cheating and stealing. Some readers may suspect that his skills were average or above average. The early generation of casino dealers in Las Vegas all migrated from areas where gambling was illegal. They had to know the tricks. Trascher's devil-may-care attitude probably led him out of more casino jobs than bravery or a desire to run his own business.
His ventures with organized crime, such as running a hotel in Los Angeles and some vague association with Donnie Brasco's Kings' Court club were distant ties to organized crime. His connections in the hotel were associates or associates of the Chicago mob using the hotel as collateral for a loan of disproportionate value. Think about it. A mob boss decides to defraud a bank out of a major loan. He has a friend of a friend use his money to buy a hotel, fix it up, run it fabulously, and then inflate the value - all over months of effort, only to see it go crashing down when they obtain the loan. It sounds far-fetched. Not many racketeers plan that far in advance. The next big connection was in Florida when he decided to cooperate with authorities for no clear reason. Maybe he just liked the agents who visited him. His connection to Kings' Court remains bizarre. Joe Pistone, undercover as Donnie Brasco, never mentioned him. If anything, Trascher was a fly on the wall. For all of the bluster about being a gangster and informant, he was not involved in any notable organized crime case.
Aside from his strong desire to steal and cheat, he appears to be a charismatic and sympathetic anti-hero. Deitche did a good job taking the story of a fringe underworld personality and making his life fascinating for the average reader. Yes, Eddie had balls, but he had other qualities too. A scoundrel, cheat, gambler, and grifter, he was also charming, handsome, dashing, clever, quick to act, and smart.
Overall, I cannot recommend the book to those interested in organized crime. Trascher does not reveal much about the mob or the gangsters. His story is that of someone on the outside looking in. His view was closer than most readers will get; but he was still one or two positions away from the mob and gangsters. This is the story of a a fringe operator who cheated his fellow cheaters - everyone is cheating and stealing. Eddie's story is really that of a grunt trying to stay independent.
Each chapter was as much about a scam as it was about Trascher. It appears that he went through life trying one scam after another to steal or cheat people out of their money. It is unusual that he flip flops (or the authors flip flop) between him running an honest game and stealing as much as he could. He was not consistent in his activities. The word "grifter" comes to mind. He would try running a liquor store, a hotel, a handbook, a counterfeit printing press, whatever. Whenever the business failed, he went to a casino and stole from the mob.
The strange chapters on Mickey Cohen stand out because the Trascher roundly trashes organized crime. Maybe he was just unhappy with Italian organized crime. He appears to have worked well with the Jewish racketeers like Cohen. There was something close to idol worship in the pages, so readers see an unabashedly pro-Cohen vision in the book. Readers unfamiliar with the brash gangster see something more akin to a hero than someone trying to stir the pot. There is a more human side to Cohen in the book. Trascher focuses on the man and his personality rather than his business. He is both honored and horrified that law enforcement and media connected him to Cohen. That friendship appears to be the basis for calling him a gangster.
Elsewhere, he has little if any connection to the mob. All the while stealing from the casinos, he claimed he was stealing from the mob. But the mob was not watching him. Pitt bosses and managers may have guessed he was stealing; but no one hauled him into a back room and broke his fingers as depicted in Casino. He heard about it; but it never happened to him. He was just that good at cheating and stealing. Some readers may suspect that his skills were average or above average. The early generation of casino dealers in Las Vegas all migrated from areas where gambling was illegal. They had to know the tricks. Trascher's devil-may-care attitude probably led him out of more casino jobs than bravery or a desire to run his own business.
His ventures with organized crime, such as running a hotel in Los Angeles and some vague association with Donnie Brasco's Kings' Court club were distant ties to organized crime. His connections in the hotel were associates or associates of the Chicago mob using the hotel as collateral for a loan of disproportionate value. Think about it. A mob boss decides to defraud a bank out of a major loan. He has a friend of a friend use his money to buy a hotel, fix it up, run it fabulously, and then inflate the value - all over months of effort, only to see it go crashing down when they obtain the loan. It sounds far-fetched. Not many racketeers plan that far in advance. The next big connection was in Florida when he decided to cooperate with authorities for no clear reason. Maybe he just liked the agents who visited him. His connection to Kings' Court remains bizarre. Joe Pistone, undercover as Donnie Brasco, never mentioned him. If anything, Trascher was a fly on the wall. For all of the bluster about being a gangster and informant, he was not involved in any notable organized crime case.
Aside from his strong desire to steal and cheat, he appears to be a charismatic and sympathetic anti-hero. Deitche did a good job taking the story of a fringe underworld personality and making his life fascinating for the average reader. Yes, Eddie had balls, but he had other qualities too. A scoundrel, cheat, gambler, and grifter, he was also charming, handsome, dashing, clever, quick to act, and smart.
Overall, I cannot recommend the book to those interested in organized crime. Trascher does not reveal much about the mob or the gangsters. His story is that of someone on the outside looking in. His view was closer than most readers will get; but he was still one or two positions away from the mob and gangsters. This is the story of a a fringe operator who cheated his fellow cheaters - everyone is cheating and stealing. Eddie's story is really that of a grunt trying to stay independent.
July 18, 2020
I knew Eddie later in life in FL. He was indeed a Gentleman Gambler and I fortunately found him to also be very fair whilst others not so much. He and Claudine were always close whether together at the time or not. She was there for him when he became unwell.
I am saddened that the good work he did for disabled children thru his horses got no mention, all the while At his expense and thru his kindness.
Bless Curt and I am sure he knew the love his parents had for him at all times.
I'm sure they are watching him now and I certainly send them all my very best.
I am saddened that the good work he did for disabled children thru his horses got no mention, all the while At his expense and thru his kindness.
Bless Curt and I am sure he knew the love his parents had for him at all times.
I'm sure they are watching him now and I certainly send them all my very best.
February 23, 2022
Balls is an entertaining tale of Eddie Trascher's story. I really enjoyed learning more about old Vegas and seeing how Eddie's life evolved over time. I would have liked it better if the book was written in more of a story format, and I feel like biographies lend themselves to that style. I can see how this could make a really great Netflix/HBO series. Overall, great, interesting story, just now quite my style preference. (I did listen to the Audible version of the book, but that wasn't an option in the edition list).
June 6, 2011
Reminded me of 'Goodfellas'...good read!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews