For Margaret and Charles Swain
My father always told me
never to bet on anything
but Notre Dame and the Yankees.
But for anyone not willing to
take my father’s advice,
I now declare this casino open.
— Governor Brendan Byrne
at the opening of Caesars
Palace, Atlantic City
May 26, 1978
Thanks to George Lucas, my editor, Chris Calhoun, my agent, and my friends Steve Forte and Shawn Redmond, for their help and guidance.
Above all, thanks to my wife, Laura, my partner in writing, and in life.