Bartleby and Me by Gay Talese

Author:Gay Talese
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-08-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

In Mahoney’s office on the following day, where I was greeted in the same friendly fashion as I had been in Burbank, he asked if I was interested in accompanying him to the Patterson-Ali fight, adding that he could also arrange a prefight interview for me with the veteran boxing trainer in Patterson’s corner, Al Silvani, who had long been on Sinatra’s payroll doing odd jobs and most recently served as a production assistant on the singer’s film-in-progress, Assault on a Queen.

I was more than surprised by Mahoney’s offer because, suspecting that the phone in my hotel room was tapped, I deduced that he knew of my private calls to Patterson (who had already set aside a ticket for me); and now perhaps Mahoney was trying to enlist me as a traveling companion so that he could keep an eye on me in Las Vegas to make sure that I did not aggressively pursue Sinatra as I might if I were on my own.

Still, I saw no reason to refuse Mahoney because being with him probably meant that I would at least be on the fringe of Sinatra’s circle. And so, as suggested, we flew together to Las Vegas on Monday morning, November 22, and, after taking a taxi to the Sands Hotel and Casino, where we would be staying, we were met in the lobby by the casino’s boss, a genial giant named Jack Entratter, a dark-haired, smartly dressed fifty-year-old who stood 6'4" and weighed 250 pounds and who in the 1940s had already gained popularity as a well-mannered back-slapping bouncer at the Stork Club in New York.

Mahoney had told me on the plane that Jack Entratter and Sinatra had been friends since the early 1950s, which was when Entratter had shifted from his position as manager of the Copacabana nightclub in New York to helping to introduce the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Having already become acquainted with many leading entertainers during his time at the Copacabana, and using his diplomatic skills to draw backing from investors, including some investors with gangland connections, Entratter soon established the Sands as the city’s most luxurious casino, made millions for himself, and stood alone in featuring such top-flight entertainers as Sinatra and the latter’s Rat Pack companions, like Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Two of these would be performing with Sinatra tonight on stage at the Sands after the fight, Mahoney had said, adding that Entratter would get me a ticket to the show, which he promptly did. Entratter proved to be even more accommodating than Mahoney had described. After checking us into our suites, confirming our luncheon reservation in the dining room with the trainer Al Silvani, and taking us to his office to get our fight tickets, Entratter then sat talking with me alone for about ten minutes while Mahoney was elsewhere, I assume checking in with Sinatra, who had arrived the night before in his private plane. When in Las Vegas, Sinatra always stayed at the Sands.

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