Nope, that's a secret, but for you Jim....

I believe the story is in the notes section of TCR8. I have heard a couple of variations of the story but they all have a similar storyline.

In 1951 Benny Binion bought the Eldorado Club and renamed it the Horseshoe. The Horseshoe did not have a hotel until Benny bought the Apache Hotel (above the Horseshoe) - the rest of the Horseshoe wasn't until about 1988 when Benny added The Mint (which included the hotel tower and the s00per seckret passage from the east side to the west side).

Round about 1953 Benny became a guest of state (well Federal Prison) and sold his club to New Orleans gambler and friend Joe Brown. I was never able to find any concrete terms of sale but have read accounts that Joe was acting as a caretaker for Benny because of Nevada licensing.

During this time Joe had the Binion name scratched off all the chips. The "B" and "NS" remained (Binion's / Brown's). I've heard this was done because of legal stuff, but have also heard there was some ego involved. I'd love to know if someone knows for sure. But I have yet to see one unscratched (please post if you have one).

Joe ran the casino until 1957 when Benny was released and bought back most of the casino.

Another interesting story is about the Million Dollar display. This also involves Benny and Joe Brown. I've had my picture taken there a couple of times. You can read this story at http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2002/MERC-Jul-25-Thu-2002/19248776.html