Born in Dallas, Texas, son of Las Vegas casino owner Benny Binion. When Benny lost his gaming license in 1964, Ted became casino manager at age 21.

Married to Carol with a daughter. She left him when to took up with Sandra Murphy, a topless dancer.

Ted lost his gaming license in March of 1998 and he needed to remove his silver hoard from the basement of Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.

Binion hired Rick Tabish, a family friend, to construct an underground vault on vacant land near downtown Pahrump, Nevada. The vault was loaded with six tons of silver bullion, casino chips, paper currency and 135,000 Morgan and Peace silver dollars. Binion was unaware that Tabish was having an affair with Sandy Murphy.

Binion was found dead on the floor at home. Sandy Murphy reported the death. Initial cause was believed to be a drug overdose but suicide and murder were also considered. Valuable in the home went missing. Tabish was found two days after the death attempting to dig up the vault at 2:00 a.m.

Murphy and Tabish were arrested in June 1999. The trial was a media sensation. They were found guilty in May 2000. Tabish was sentenced to 25 years to life, Murphy got 22 years to life.

The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the conviction in July 2003. After a second trial, both were acquitted of murder charges.

bio: E-Sylum 3/10/24