Gold Rush Jewelry, Las Vegas, Triblend Tee

Venue History

Gold Rush Ltd. was a Las Vegas jewelry store remembered less for its retail presence than for its notorious place in the city’s late-1970s and early-1980s organized-crime history. Located at 228 West Sahara Avenue, near the Golden Steer Steakhouse and just west of the Strip, the shop operated during a turbulent period when federal investigators were intensifying scrutiny of mob influence in Las Vegas. On paper, Gold Rush Ltd. was a retail jewelry business selling fine jewelry at discounted prices. Its storefront presented a legitimate commercial identity, the kind of small independent shop common in Las Vegas at the time. But authorities alleged that behind that public face, the business served as a base of operations for Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, the Chicago Outfit’s feared Las Vegas enforcer and hitman, and members of his inner-circle. A business license issued in April 1978 listed Spilotro as sole stockholder, with his brother John Spilotro as president and Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein as secretary-treasurer. The shop reportedly operated with unusually tight security: a buzzer-controlled entrance, frequent sweeps for listening devices, and radio scanners monitoring law-enforcement frequencies. In later accounts, Gold Rush became closely associated with Spilotro’s ‘Hole in the Wall Gang,’ a burglary crew known for breaking into buildings by cutting through walls and ceilings. Federal authorities alleged that a large portion of Gold Rush’s inventory consisted of stolen merchandise and that the business was connected to illegal bookmaking activity. In 1981, Spilotro and several associates were named in a federal RICO indictment involving Gold Rush Ltd., with prosecutors alleging racketeering activity that included dealing in stolen jewelry, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Court records identified Gold Rush as a Nevada corporation doing business as a retail jewelry store in Las Vegas. Although Gold Rush Ltd. was relatively small, its reputation became outsized because of its connection to one of the most infamous chapters in Las Vegas mob history. Gold Rush remains remembered as a symbol of the city’s darker underworld era when jewelry counters, casino interests, burglary crews, and organized crime collided just beyond the neon glow of the Strip. The property upon which Gold Rush Ltd. stood was absorbed into the footprint of the Allure Condos.