Yellowstone’s Cole Hauser to Play Vegas Poker Icon Benny Binion in Sylvester Stallone–Produced Series
Credit: Paramount Network
Sylvester Stallone and Yellowstone’s Cole Hauser are teaming up on a TV show based on Las Vegas legend Benny Binion.
The series is an adaptation of the book Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker by Doug J. Swanson. The book details Binion’s origins and how he developed modern Las Vegas gambling.
In the series, Hauser will play Binion.
Who was Benny Binion?
Without Binion, Las Vegas might not have become the iconic city that it is today.
Before Vegas, Binion established his roots in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the 1920s and 1930s. Binion set up an illegal moonshining operation during Prohibition. In 1931, Binion was convicted of killing a rumrunner, which led to his “cowboy” nickname.
By the end of the 1930s, Binion was Dallas’ top gambling magnet and mob boss.
Benny Binion’s impact on Las Vegas
In the mid-1940s, Binion fled to Las Vegas, which would serve as the location of his next empire since gambling was legal.
In 1951, Binion opened Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, which remains open today. Gamblers immediately flocked to the casino because Binion implemented high table limits. Binion received death threats for this move, but other casinos eventually followed suit and raised their limits.
Binion’s notable decisions:
- Install carpeting throughout the casino
- Give complimentary drinks to all players, not just the high rollers
- Uses limousines to transport players to and from the casino
- Take big bets with huge odds.
Many of Binion’s decisions are still followed at major casinos in Vegas.
Benny Binion and the creation of the World Series of Poker
Binion championed poker at his casino.
In 1970, Binion wanted to put a spotlight on high-stakes poker by arranging a six-person tournament. The players would compete for cash in a no-limit Texas Hold’em game. The players would vote on a champion.
The next year, Binion instituted a freeze-out game with a $10,000 buy-in. In a freeze-out poker game, players start with the same amount of chips and play until they run out.
This idea became the basis for the World Series of Poker, which recently began its online fall bracelet schedule.
Who is Cole Hauser?
Hauser is best known for playing Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone, the hit Western drama that ran for five seasons on the Paramount Network from 2018 to 2024.
Hauser will return as Rip in The Dutton Ranch, a Paramount+ spin-off series coming later in 2026. Kelly Reilly, who plays Rip’s wife, Beth Dutton, will star alongside Hauser.
In a statement released to Deadline, Hauser said that playing the role of Binion would be his “honor.”
“Benny Binion is one of the great Western American characters and success stories of the 20th century, loaded with ambition, vision, balls, and like all controversial characters, many flaws,” Hauser said. “His legacy is undeniable. How he built it is an incredible story which we can’t wait to tell. It’s a privilege to play him and an honor to produce this with Sylvester Stallone and MGM to bring this incredible story to life.”
Who is behind the Benny Binion TV show?
The Blood Aces adaptation hails from Stallone’s Balboa Productions, Hauser’s American Outlaw Entertainment, and MGM Television.
While Hauser will appear in the series, Stallone is only attached as a producer, not an actor.
Executive producers include Stallone, Hauser, D. Matt Geller, Randall Batinkoff, and Jai Stefan.
Producers are currently searching for showrunners.
As for Stallone, he is currently filming the fourth season of his hit Paramount+ show, Tulsa King.
“This is a story that will captivate audiences, and it’s a role made for Cole Hauser to play,” Stallone said. “I am proud and excited to partner with Cole to bring this story to life.”
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