The Joe Conforte Book is Ready .............

Finally my book is ready! The title is "Breaks, Brains & Balls", which is a short-hand code for how to make it big in this world, like I did. It will be published as a regular book in May, but you can Buy It Now as an Ebook!.


This is my life story. I have a very good memory, very good, and this is the way I remember it, from a little boy in Sicily, watching my mother in her outdoor kitchen, squatting down to fan the fire beneath the big cooking pot with a raven's wing, to now, in my penthouse apartment in Rio De Janeiro with the most beautiful young girl in Brazil for my companion.

Do you think it was easy, getting to this paradise? No. Like the book says, it took breaks, brains and balls every step of the way, from a street-smart runaway kid in New York City to owning the Mustang Ranch in the Nevada desert, putting millions into a Swiss bank account and thumbing my nose at the IRS all the way.

"In Nevada a man can do anything he's big enough to do, so long as he don't hurt nobody else."

— Joe Conforte

For MORE information and to buy the book go to http://joeconforte.com

A message from Joe ...............

Joe Conforte is on my Facebook now. I sent this to him the other day .............. For those who don't know who he is, Google his name. He is a big part of Nevada history. I knew of him, dealt craps to him on a number of occasions, and have sat and talked with him also. He is presently in "exile" in Brasil. There have been a number of TV Specials on him.


Joe, dealt craps to you a few times at the Primm, and talked with you a few times also at the Nugget in Sparks when you were doing some transactions. I remember the Cordovan colored Lincoln, brautiful. Remember a "bodyguard" that used to play 21 at the Nevada Club, cried when he lost. Good to know you are still around. I have a blog on Nevada, always get hits when your name comes up. I remember the "good old days."

I got a reply from him, thought some might be interested to know what he said ...............

Joe, I always like to read about Nevada and especially those days, why don't you put up the link to your blog, that way everybody can see it. I remember that Lincoln -- here in Rio I have a black Chrysler 300 sedan -- and as for the bodyguard who cried . . . I never knew that! What years was that?

Glad to hear from him, brings back a lot of good old Nevada Memories .....

Buenos Dias, Jose Conforte

I received an email the other day, someone asked my impression of Joe Conforte, who was the brothel king of Nevada.

My early recollections of Joe go back to 1956 and the few times I saw him in those days. I first saw his bodyguard, a rather large, black haired guy, whose name I unfortunately forget. I may not have ever known his name, all the dealers at the Nevada Club referred to his as the "cry baby." I guess, when he lost, tears came to his eyes, he hated to lose.

I think around this time, Joe was just getting started with his Triangle Ranch. I think he arrived in Reno in 1955. I had a good friend that was a cab driver, the main means of transportaton to the Ranch, and he was always rewarded financially when he took a fare to the Ranch. Joe was always well known for "taking care of people."

Years later, I remember working at the Primm, and seeing Joe and his driver pull up in front of the club in a gorgeous cordovan colored Lincoln convertable, escorting a few girls into the club, and in general, letting the public know that "Joe Conforte is in the house."

Camel haired top coat, big cigar, and he was always ready for a handshake. Ernie kept special cigars behind the bar for Joe, and an expensive bottle of something for him, not sure what it was.
I don't think he wagered heavily, the times I dealt to him, he won. He was a backline player and knew when to get in, and when to get out. He was a good player and an even better "toker. "

I think it was in 1959 that he spent some time in jail in Carson City. Rumor had it that he was put on a "work party" in Virginia City shortly after he signed in, and while there, stayed at the Blair House in a suite of rooms. The Blair House was very old, so I am sure the accommodations were not that great, but still not bad for a work party.

Later on while in prison, he bankrolled some of the games that went on in prison. Yes, at that time, there was a casino in the prison. Gambling is legal in Nevada, so there was nothing wrong with a casino in prison. I guess in prison, Joe still wore his red Alpaca sweater, alligator shoes with the tassels, white on white shirts, Sansi-belt slacks. True Magazine did a story on him in prison, there he is at a crap table, big cigar, rolling the dice. I have heard that his prison number was stenciled on the back of the red alpaca sweater.

It was always a joke in the casinos, that prisoners while in prison, could learn a trade, becoming a dealer, in the prison casino. Prisoner rehab. The only flaw, you can't work in a casino in Nevada if you have been convicted and have a record.

On an occasion or two I have been in a group of people, talking with Joe, at the Nugget in Sparks, while they were converting little bills to larger bills for him. I always enjoyed those brief conversations. Joe was a very intelligent man and knew how to "play" the system. He was an "icon" whether you liked him or not. He was a big part of Nevada history.

If you think about it, Joe ran a more honest business than the casinos. With Joe, you paid for a service, and received it. In a casino, you never stood a chance of winning, so who was the more honest?

The Olympics are heading his way, millions of people, billions of dollars, and Joe right in the middle. I think Mustang in Spanish is Mustang ..... he won't even need new calling cards, just change the address. I hope his health holds out so he can get back into "action" again.

Joe Conforte

In reply to an email last week, yes, I did know Joe Conforte some, through dealing to him and seeing him around town on some of his "marketing" jaunts.
He would pull up in front of the club, cordovan colored Lincoln convertible, cashmere topcoat, cigar and a large bankroll. At the Primm, we always kept his favorite cigar and liquor on the back bar, just for when he came it. He spread money around.
He presented the image, perfectly, of who he was, and what he did.
He was a back line player, jumped in and out, and he was tough to beat. He was a promoter and knew how to play and work the system, and stay one step ahead of the law.
The old Triangle Ranch, trailers, land in three counties. When one would get too hot, he would move the operation to another county. He drove the DA, Bill Raggio to distraction. Raggio finally went in one night, without proper authority, burned the place to the ground. I think he eventually went in too politics.
Apparently, Joe did everything proper. Every night, receipts, money taken in, all the proper paperwork, all on the up and up. But then, at the end of the night, he would burn them all.
When he was sent to prison in Carson City, tax evasion or something, he was immediately taken to the Blair House in Virginia City and put on a work party.
Then, in prison, in Carson City, he was involved in the casino, where he bankrolled a few games. Of course, gambling is legal in Nevada, so it was OJT for some of the inmates. But they forgot, felony conviction and you can't work in a casino.
It was always reported to be the most honest game in the state, if you got thrown out of there, you had no place else to go.
One issue of true magazine, there is Joe, cigar, alligator shoes, red alpaca knit sweater, shooting craps. But we know that was for the picture, he wouldn't shoot craps on his own table. He was also on the cover of Rolling Stones.
He did well for a cab driver from San Francisco, made millions, owned his own town in Nevada, had friends in HIGH places, owned many a politician, spread his money around. He now lives in Brazil, and our government won't let him come back for a visit.
Oprah did one of her shows at the Mustang Ranch one day, and it was so popular that they stayed and did an additional day.
They all loved Joe. I remember one mother they interviewed, loved Joe, credited him with saving her daughters life. "If Joe had not turned her in to a prostitute, I don't know where she would be today." That's the truth, she said it.
Joe got "first count," and the casinos get "first count." Joe got caught, so the IRS got him.
In a casino, you lose your money, and get nothing ...... at Joe's, you get something in return for your money.
I must admit, I liked Joe Conforte, had cofffee with him a couple of times when I was on a break, and I knew his bodyguard a bit.
They should let him come back for a visit, he probably has a few million buried somewhere, they should let him dig it up.