Mobster & Gambler - "Mr. Big" Arnold Rothstein

Arnold Rothstein was a Jewish-American racketeer, businessman and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish mob in New York. Rothstein was widely reputed to have organized corruption in professional athletics, conspiring in the fixing of the 1919 World Series.
According to crime writer Leo Katcher, Rothstein "transformed organized crime from a thuggish activity by hoodlums into a big business, run like a corporation, with himself at the top." According to Rich Cohen, Rothstein was the person who first realized that Prohibition was a business opportunity, a means to enormous wealth, who "understood the truths of early century capitalism (giving people what they want) and came to dominate them."

[@mjohnson5030]

"Nothing says I'm sorry like money."

[@thesoundvault508]

I mean, I’ll take money as an apology any day 😂

[@JB-hl1qx]

A line I've adopted from the show and use frequently .

[@ThisHandleFeatureIsStupid]

Rothstein's death also resulted in a torrent of liquidity entering rackets of the day. The enormous amount of money owed to him by the underworld suddenly got to stay where it was, which led to an explosion in booze importation, which led to a price drop, which led to many hijackings and acts of competition. It is speculated that the money gained by his demise was a significant trigger for the Castellamarese War, because it provided the "Young Turks" (Luciano, Lansky, Costello, etc.) with the capital they needed to settle the disorder they knew they would cause by eliminating the "Mustache Petes". Fascinating stuff, that era...

[@danfield6030]

They are called Turks because they are Ashkenazi, I think.

[@ThisHandleFeatureIsStupid]

@@danfield6030 No, they were mostly Italian - not Jewish. The expression "Young Turks" just means someone who is trying to take control of an organization via some sort of maneuver or strategy. 👍 But I learned what "Ashkenazi" means today, so...thanks for that!

[@KOS00790]

" All of man's troubles come from his inability to sit quietly in a room by himself " - Arnold Rothstein

[@solitudeguard1932]

Did he actually say that? Quotes from The Boardwalk Empire are not all authentic

[@stolentardis2111]

Rothstein was quoting Blaise Pascal in the show

[@PinkyJujubean]

No matter who said it, it's still true

[@monteespell1648]

You should try it sometimes kosi nwosu

[@KOS00790]

@@monteespell1648 this one still doesn't get the message, clearly

[@RanochVTX]

Loved his character on boardwalk empire. One of the best.

[@DarkoSayd]

Me too! Michael Stuhlbarg did a terrific job, really.

[@johnbreuwet6224]

Watch Making of the mob New York.

[@AdamSteinzOfficial]

The documents are absolutely fantastic! Well-planned. well- thought out, and well-crafted. These docs are loaded with information. Kudos B&B!!!

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Thanks Adam!

[@vietrounder]

Boardwalk Empire brought me here

[@henrybadd5866]

Great series!

[@ettnollbajen9945]

Same! #teamnucky

[@donutsdulce]

Boardwalk Empire bring everybody back to the 20s 🤣

[@nikelife9526]

Me 2.

[@billhoare7404]

Me too lol

[@evanvaughn4295]

I must admit, I never understood why people liked this guy so much in boardwalk empire until I saw this. Rothstein was much more interesting than I thought. Great video.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

+Evan Vaughn You're welcome. Thanks for watching my friend.

[@davidson4500]

Giuseppe Morello "The clutch hand" is the video i am waiting for.

[@nd-mr7om]

+groomedtodie no one rivaled nucky in nuckys town, and comparing nuckys influence in Atlantic city to rothsteins in new York, or the Sicilians is not equal. they had power but nucky literally ran the city from politics to police and all of the illegal activity the only one close was probably capone but there was still a difference because he only paid off. Luciano said it in his book Atlantic city wasn't his just in theory or technicality, it was his literally. that's the difference between nucky and all the other gangster, you couldn't of went into Atlantic city to have a war with Nucky it wouldn't be sensible, you could have a war with anyone else in their city.

[@nd-mr7om]

+groomedtodie read Lucianos book, those young dudes who started the commission learned class and how to run like a corporation maybe from rothstein but just as much if not more as they did from Nucky whose real last name was Johnson, they definitely took something from him because the control they had over the entire city of New York was only equal to that of one before and that was Nucky Johnson in Atlantic City. he owned it, not just in words that grab your attention for entertainment value. he literally owned the city

[@Sarah-gv3ln]

Yeah, I'm a fan from BE. I think, mostly, I like his looks...

[@johnbravo7542]

Walking around with $200K in your pocket,in those days,imagine how many houses you could have bought with that money.

[@danielponder7165]

John Bravo I know this is predating cards and other forms of payments, but man I feel nervous with more than 50$ cash in my pocket....

[@markbrisec3972]

And he was carrying that money in crisp brand new 1000$ bills. Imagine that. How the hell did he get a change after buying anything? Back then 1000$ was like 10 000$ today. Imagine going to McDrive, ordering a Big Meal and handing a 10 000$ bill to the cashier? I'm guessing he told many people "keep the change"....Those were the days..

[@jewslikefunk]

Hey man, your channel is an incredible hidden gem. Love your videos.

[@craigboots7929]

This VOICE is the BEST !! Your voice and Bill Kurtis , second to no one !!

[@Pyrethryn]

I love these videos, thank you sir. You are sharing some awesome, entertaining history.

[@standingupt]

the effort in this channel is A-1!!...what a treat!..ciao for now~

[@jimmyfontaine7812]

Photos, images and audio of these original gangsters are very rare. Part of this comes down to the technology at the time however keeping a low profile was also understood. Thanks for the video.

[@Sarah-gv3ln]

Love him from the Boardwalk Empire.... The actor is way too charming!

[@ishmaeldarjean2757]

Great story and thank you for posting.

[@farleigh1973]

Excellent insight in to A.R's life, thanks for posting. Regards, paul.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

You're welcome Paul. Thanks for watching.

[@jakenconor]

Bloodletters & Badmen Abe Attell was featherweight champion, not bantamweight.

[@doublep1980]

What makes him stand out from your typical Prohibition-Era Gangster,is the fact that he conducted organised crime the same way he would conduct a legitimate business. A "philosophy" that was later adopted by many other successful crimebosses like Lucky Luciano/Mayer Lansky or the leaders of the Cali Cartel ("Gentlemen of Cali"). Sadly he couldn´t get his own gambling addiction under control which let to this death.

[@albertbarese4170]

Props for mentioning the Cali Godfathers. They were very much the spiritual successors to the type of gangsters like Luciano, Rothstein, Costello, Lansky, and etc.

[@cakeicecream7844]

Like the saying says "don't get high on your own supply" because it leads to your own destruction!!!

[@gatbos]

"treat the customer right....his stupidity is our income" -Wise words!

[@howey935]

Just discovered your channel and I must say you do a great job and you have a new subscriber keep up the good work sir.

[@wonderland1979]

I love your videos. Please keep them coming :)

[@Larry]

Love your narrative voice dude, I could listen to you all day! :)

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

+Larry Bundy Jr Thanks my friend.

[@svoland2003]

+Bloodletters & Badmen is that your real voice?

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

svoland2003 Yes. Why?

[@Larry]

Bloodletters & Badmen No worries, you seriously should consider contacting a voice over agency and doing it professionally!

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

***** Thanks my friend. I have been told that before. So I looked into it. Evidently, it is pretty difficult to break into that industry.

[@hassasinali7979]

Rothstein was a real GG. The guy refused to snitch. Top man.

[@Blackkey034]

Or maybe he did say but the cops were paid by his enemies

[@sicdavid6292]

If I found my brothers wealth in cash, I would declare his estate bankrupt as well.

[@FranklinSninsky]

Lucky Luciano and his boys, also meyer lanksy most likely had him killed, and even if they didnt they just kept the millions he loaned them all, lol come on now ...

[@JosephKulik2016]

Dear sicDaVid: In our Western society, people naively assume that a person's appearance accurately reflects who he is as a person. Conmen of all types make their living from skillfully using this principle. Perhaps you are making the same naive mistake by assuming that just because Rothstein appeared to be wealthy that he was in fact wealthy. ... [e-mail]

[@WillieDuitt1]

@@FranklinSninsky Right, follow the money

[@Gameguru667]

@@FranklinSninsky possible but see, if he did welch on a bet, people would've killed over that definitely back then.

[@jamesfeldman4234]

Makes sense!

[@louismaddener2462]

Needs his own TV show as the main character

[@Swnsasy]

I had no idea he was so well respected and this much of a genius!

[@johnderfler5183]

I've watched many of these mobster videos, and have come to the conclusion no matter how big, how rich, or how powerful. Most of them don't die of old age.

[@otom20]

Yeah, but maybe it's a blessing. Life is not so great especially when you are at old age with all the sickness.

[@robertanthony7958]

Roth ii Y'all. Take c Hood night see you in the morning , some of you plz feel free to express yourself here

[@irishpride9867]

Not everyone can be a Carlo Gambino

[@danielmiller9012]

@@irishpride9867 Torrio as well

[@alexanderbrambila8274]

meyer lansky got to live out his days

[@kevinsoto2146]

Love listening to your video i hope you start making video again

[@BronzNazareth]

Damn, 90% of the take. :o

[@PMMagro]

That is what I call a "deal"! No wonder he kept his word in deals done...

[@wynwilliams6977]

nodinitiative What the fuck his religion got to do with anything? he was a high level gangster thats why he took so much, he fronted all the money and took all the risk, you fucking trumptaard prick

[@paulsecon4889]

BronzNazareth Big Fuckin Number!!!

[@alaricdelano8159]

Yeah that one shocked me. I get it but at the same time i imagine he had contacts or some other reason for whatever his investment couldn't justify as a cut to make it so the manager needn't worry about shit hitting the fan.

[@richardristic8044]

That's what I thought!!

[@victoriavalencia2584]

Great series! Wish there was more

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

+Victoria Valencia Working on it. Thanks for watching.

[@Hellraiza804]

Just about every gangster's story. Fun ride to the top, enjoy it for a while. Then you come crashing down. (dead or jail)

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Dee, Selwyn Raab in his book "The Five Families" noted the average tenure of a capo or boss is 6 to 8 years. Then, like you said, they end up serving life in prison or they are dead. I'm betting one more could be added...they end up in witness protection. Thanks for the comment.

[@CocoonClub360]

Bloodletters & Badmen Meyer Lanski? had a long life or tell i crap?

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Yes, Meyer Lansky did. But he wasn't Italian nor was he Mafia. The older guys seemed to last longer (Joe Bonanno, Profaci, Luciano), but by the third generation it became a very dangerous position to be in.

[@Hellraiza804]

***** Yeah a few have managed to make it to old age and go of natural causes. Lucciano for example. From what I remember, A heart attack took him out.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

That is correct. However, if you look at his time at the actual top, it was only about 6 years. Some have wonder as powerful as he was suppose to be, how did a group of low class whores bring him down having him sent to jail? Then, he was kicked out of the country. Interesting questions, but they are only questions.

[@jessicabeek3883]

Very well done. Fascinating figure in mob history.

[@ScricyWestside]

please do Lucky Luciano. i bet you're version would be much better than all the documentaries on youtube.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I haven't really considered it since so many different documentaries have been done. But I will think about it.

[@turkialhilaly6137]

I agree, Lucky please :)

[@taesokimim5832]

Is charlie luciano no need for disrespect.

[@kevinfahey1968]

Love the facts

[@MikeSmith-gx6be]

@@Bloodlettersandbadmen put something new out!

[@teutonic_crusader1175]

I love that even though he could take revenge on the guy who shot him by telling the police, he chose not to- out of honour. That is really outstanding. Any other guy would have told the police and hope that the guy who shot him get sentences to life in prison or worse.

[@bangpennystocks4534]

I really hope it’s true- I want to believe it

[@joelwidgins6329]

I just saw Boardwalk Empire a week ago. poppin. he was my favorite Biop next to Lansky.

[@redsav2983]

Facts brody its slept on

[@joelwidgins6329]

@moestavernprankcall it might sound a bit Magneto strange, but I am a Psychic, and was born sickly and frail. And A.R. has been my dear mentor and friend since 8 years of age, in 1991. Plus I have never had the emotional girth to participate in the streets, as much as I love and care for relatives and Dear Godbrothers and Godsisters whom are in the streets... So I believe that A.R. took to me for that reason, as much a more that my mom's mom was a Mid-wife Back in Liberia. But I figured he had more to him than just being a fellow friendly~ghost-Jew. Plus I was able to put a few two'$ together, when a few years ago my mom told me that her mother's Brother moved here to America in the early 1900'$, whilst seeing "Pernsley" say he had a "Palava" with Chalkie White in the series. And then finding out a bit of knowledge on some of my nieces nephews and Cousins on my dad's side the latter, As my dad's father's sister has 8 children with "Angelo Bruno", and don't get me to panic farting about "Heart eating" warlords in my mom's country subletting powers from Wishmaster practitioners to be invincible in Civil Liberian Government takeovers back in the 80'$. ## It's a NBA Jam Barn Burner,😨💨🤧

[@c.a.1929]

A good example of: “Pride comes before the fall” and “crime doesn’t pay (eventually)”

[@ericspero996]

Another great post. Thanks!

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Thanks Eric!

[@Godfather9814]

A man that built an empire on gambling he should’ve known never to gamble! That’s why it’s said Meyer Lansky who was one of his protégés never gambled

[@chuckrutkowski1072]

Lansky took a huge gamble in Cuba. You saw how that worked out.

[@Godfather9814]

chuck rutkowski that was a huge investment going up in flames, Lansky as well as the other Cuban investors were betting on both sides. On one hand the mob continued to bribe Batista and the other they were rumored to be giving money and supplies to Castro with the understanding they’d continue to run the casinos and whatever Castro did with Batista and taking over his end of the operation was up to him. Batista’s cut was probably millions of dollars a week which if Castro used to make the country a better place it wouldn’t be so bad.....but hey how the Cubans handle a communist regime is up for debate 🤷🏻‍♂️😂 lansky should’ve never put all his cash into one investment

[@mack7518]

I have to say you know the history of the gangster era from when it all started.Since i was a kid when i first watched movies with James Cagney to the movie The Untouchables i became fascinated. Do you have any info or vids on the waterfront when the irish were in control before the italians took over? Again much appreciated on these great vids.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

I've done a few videos on Irish gangsters and will do more in the future. But for now, not that I can think of. Thanks for watching my friend.

[@joegallo7838]

an keep these comin these are awesome I seen every single mob doc on here about ten times do u do these on ur own

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Joe, yes. I have read about the history of organized crimes for years and just decided to share some of the research. Thanks for the kind words and God bless.

[@joegallo7838]

your good at making documentaries keep em coming my man

[@Robconnors7253]

I like that music from the 1920s in the background. .. Very good presentation. ..

[@FormerlyNYVulgarian]

A movie about A.R. with Michael Stuhlbarg would be truly epic.

[@Jhihmoac]

...When it came to sporting events, he went by the name of "The King of Odds"... He factored in EVERYTHING in a game, weather conditions, player moods, winning streaks, etc... His odds were often "Gospel" by many other mob owned betting establishments on determining the point spread... It is said that even hardline bettors going against one another on a game's outcome consulted "AR" for his odds, and used them accordingly...

[@suprcrzy]

I can't wait for 2014 to get here! Looking forward to going to Mob-con!

[@MrParker1115]

Lol

[@paghal11]

I hate to break this to you, but you just missed it.

[@davimattos7081]

Great stuff!

[@SuperGreatSphinx]

With the advent of Prohibition, Rothstein saw the opportunities for business; he diversified into bootlegging and narcotics. Liquor was brought in by smuggling along the Hudson River, as well as from Canada across the Great Lakes and into upstate New York. Rothstein also purchased holdings in a number of speakeasies. With his banking support, and high-level political connections, Rothstein soon managed to end-run Tammany Hall to the street gangs. Subsequently, his criminal organization included such underworld notables as Meyer Lansky, Jack "Legs" Diamond, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and Dutch Schultz, whose combined gangs and double-dealing with their own respective bosses subverted the entire late 19th century form of political gangsterism. Rothstein's various nicknames were Mr. Big, The Fixer, The Man Uptown, The Big Bankroll and The Brain. Rothstein frequently mediated differences between the New York gangs and reportedly charged a hefty fee for his services. His favorite "office" was Lindy's, at Broadway and 49th Street in Manhattan. He often stood on the corner surrounded by his bodyguards and did business on the street. Rothstein made bets and collected debts from those who had lost the previous day. Meanwhile, he exploited his role as mediator with the city's legitimate business world and soon forced Tammany Hall to recognize him as a necessary ally in its running of the city. Many historians credit him as the first successful modern drug dealer. By 1925, Rothstein was one of the most powerful criminals in the country, and had forged a large criminal empire. For a time he was the largest bootlegger in the nation, until the rise of George Remus. With a reported wealth of over $10 million Rothstein was one of the wealthiest gangsters in US history, and is widely considered to be one of, or the, founding father(s) of organised crime in the United States.

[@richtracy98]

2:39 "Watch out, I'm gonna spit!" I love that Scarface movie with Paul Muni.

[@edwardgarea7650]

Rothstein took Luciano under his wing, teaching him how to dress (even buying him a couple of suits), table manners, how to converse and other basic manners. The story was that when AR was killed Luciano had his boys scour the city for the killer and was said to have pulled the trigger on him personally.

[@coldclassic2521]

That's who did it.😒

[@halmartin5772]

Clean voice over!

[@EASTCAMDENRD]

highly informative

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Rodney Carson Thank you my friend:)

[@animalblack8482]

Excellent thxu

[@hhh123837]

Very well done video!! :)

[@avernikas]

why do i find your videos so addictive? criminality is now as easy as turning on a computer, however, to become the Rothstein of these later times requires one to be programming virtuoso. nothing less will grant one even a fraction of the power this man, and his protege, Maester Luciano, enjoyed.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Thanks for watching avernikas. I'm working on a new one on Salvatore Maranzano. Should be uploaded this weekend.

[@avernikas]

Bloodletters & Badmen History Channel and others used to be my source of all things "this thing of ours." Well they've all gone reality....thank you for bringing it back.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

You are welcome. Thanks for watching. Newest video being uploaded now!

[@wendellsmith9121]

Thanks for the reply, but I am curious to know what sight it is or even genre ? Is it swing ?

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

I am so sorry, but I just don't remember. It was from 1929. I got a new computer not long after finishing this and I thought I saved the website, but didn't.

[@julioromero1379]

What a time to be alive all or nothing back then.😎

[@IfGodWereEvilHedBeMe]

could you possibly do one on Hyman Red Larner, carmine and Angelo bastone, and mugsy tortorella, Michael Corbitt?

[@paulsecon4889]

Still waiting for a quality film on Meyer and Arnold and them only. Not side characters. Someone please let me know if I missed something.

[@syourke3]

You got to admire guys like Rothstein even though he was a big criminal. They had balls and would rather live big and die young than live small and maybe live long. They were all gamblers and like all gamblers, they tended to die broke but what a time they had!

[@dondressel4802]

Definitely

[@brooklyn9398]

those day

[@isaiahsalazar2431]

What’s the name of the song playing in the background? It’s super cool.

[@cosmosgato]

2:40 Ninety percent of the take? Damn!

[@soloagent47]

Loved the way he was portrayed in Boardwalk Empire. I wonder if the 2 under his control Lucky and Myrer had anything to do with it. They took over and helped the government against the the Germans in World War two. Lucky was deported on a trumped up charge. Still fascinated by them.

[@rlathbury]

Arnold Rothstein was the inspiration for the character Meyer Wolfshiem in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (1925). Wolfshiem is also said to have fixed the World Series in 1919. In a letter to Corey Ford (1937), FItzgerald mentions "my own meeting with Arnold Rothstein" as an incident that prompted some of the novel. A famous figure of the underworld, Rothstein is mentioned in "The Maltese Falcon" (1930). In Chapter XV, Sam Spade tells the Bryan, the district attorney, that he has "Arnold Rothstein on the brain." This video clip is good, although it over-glorifies Rothstein and soft pedals the gangster side. The money pictured is not right for the era, either: it's later 20th century bank notes, not 1920's currency. Rothstein carried thousand dollar bills; only hundreds are shown here.

[@junesilvermanb2979]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon_(novel)

[@yoloswaggins1579]

He went out like a gambler.

[@Styalzfuego]

well since Boardwalk Empire won't go into too much detail about what happened to A.R. since they starting the new season....in 1931.......this was very informative.....i saw the other video about the Castellammarese War..... i'm curious to see how they portray that in this new season.....Thanks for the history lesson......by the way....

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

I haven't watched that show yet. I wait till its completed and then do a month marathon. Are you liking it?

[@CocoonClub360]

Bloodletters & Badmen That show is awesome! You will liked it, im sure.

[@rebekahleech7270]

Bloodletters & Badmen steve buscemi as nucky johnson is excellent (but hes called nucky Thompson in the show). Al capones portrayed and luciano. Its brilliant lol

[@LiberMan11]

Can somebody tell me what's the name of the song playing in the background? I just like it!

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Sorry, my friend. I just don't remember.

[@marusatrobec7926]

my fav character in boardwalk by far

[@PinkyJujubean]

I just watched Eight Men Out and decided to learn about Mr Big

[@LetsGoGetThem]

Fun fact, this little known guy relative to other gangsters is the man credited as the first true successful drug dealer in the modern sense, the first man to realize the money there was in prohibition and to profit off of it, eventually leading him to become the largest bootlegger in America, and the man credited to have transformed "hooliganism" or street gangs into true organized crime that we would see later both in America and exported to the rest of the world. The man literally invented gangsterism, including the bribing of politicians for favors etc. The guy owned broadway, pretty much every politician. Was a millionare at a time when being a millionare meant you were filthy rich. He was the king of NYC in his day. So yeah a pretty overlooked figure, but many gangsters of his ethnicity are unfortunately. It wasn't really an unique way of doing things though. He simply ran his rackets like a business. Land owners like William M. Tweed bribed Tammany Hall like Rothstein and used it to further his own needs as well, however, he was doing corruption in a "legal" way. Big difference, obviously. Also: You'd think a mathematical genius would know not to gamble considering the near impossible odds of winning more than you lose as time goes on, lol, but we all have our vices we know are bad that doom us in the end.

[@waynejones205]

8:00 Is that Times Square with an El running thru it? A.R., the Original "Legitimate Businessman!"

[@noono19]

Yes. And Arnold Rothstein is still eating dinner in Times-a Squere

[@tornadoftworthaintnoff]

J.edgar Hoover was the toughest man in America to ever wear a dress.

[@robertsr.249]

@ Pat Martin don’t believe everything you read ,or as the old saying goes believe none of what you read and half of what you see

[@mikeruzza1463]

The picture that nobody has ever seen. It's an urban legend and bull shit. Haha

[@89Epro]

What’s the name of the song ?

[@christopherbeebe1064]

My favorite character on Boardwalk Empire, his smile always made me laugh!!!

[@jeffcarroll1990shock]

There's only one reason he would have ran out of a building: someone offered him better odds.

[@Tony63909]

I wonder what happened to his money.

[@sleebanger]

I don't believe for a second his estate went bankrupt.

[@gatbos]

Same here. They figured how to keep it..

[@gabycastro7574]

Anyone knows what happened with his wife and kids??? I love the way that the Brain was played in Boardwalk Empire!

[@VolumedMusicMan]

I wished the White Sox never associated with this guy. No way they should've lost to Cincinnati in 1919!

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Sox fan to the end.

[@scottland5847]

If the White Sox owner wasn't so cheap it probably wouldn't of been a fixed World Series.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Michael Lansky I did in 2005 thank you.

[@jismism9515]

Honestly - One could learn alot from AR - Street / Business-wise; He will always be respected in my book

[@ignorecorporatenews]

PLEASE make a video doc about Richie the Boot Boiardo, the Godfather who ran north NJ for 50 years .

[@isaiahsalazar2431]

Song name at the end of the video?

[@primecoconut4204]

If Rothstein took on business in a legal way, and not the mob life, he would be the undisputed world’s richest and brightest businessmen in history, not even the world’s biggest tycoons of modern time couldnt beat him. Huge respect for him

[@allarkuus7661]

I tend to agree. The only thing i am unsure about is the violence aspect which helped him carry out his business. How much of a game changer it would be, i wonder

[@albertbarese4170]

@@allarkuus7661 Men like JP Morgan and Andrew Carnegie didn’t get where they were by not being violent to an extent. Mr. Big would’ve fit in well.

[@cp2888]

Well, here's a man who took it all with him!

[@delstanley1349]

+cp2> Well, within a year nobody else could say that. There was nothing to take; the stock market crashed! I wonder in the end if he had anything at all? Wouldn't, or more likely couldn't pay his gambling debts? The very wealthy AR, gambling? Didn't Meyer learn from him that gambling is for suckers; the real money was in running the games and the houses; that the true riches in the gold mines was selling the miners the shovels, picks and axes? In the end his wealth may have been just a myth, just like Meyer's "hidden wealth"---somewhere. What happened to all of AR's protection? I thought he was a walking fortress considering his prestige, and wealth. Poor AR dying in the street for an unpaid debt. His fate was no different than the common street hustler, Billy in the song "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price.

[@dr.barrycohn5461]

Great narrator.

[@paghal11]

"Could calculate odds faster that a modern computer" I'm not so sure about that. Hyperbolic. Otherwise entertaining summary of this man's life.

[@Gobiniu]

"Faster than a modern day computer"...

[@ghostehh]

what a stupid fucking claim lol

[@ThisHandleFeatureIsStupid]

Obviously a laughable claim.

[@frankmathews1110]

So why the disbelief ppl back in the days was far different from now

[@Mozes316]

Frank Mathews Different? Yeah, sure. But some kind of brilliant super power minded mutants? I doubt it. Computers solves equations in fractions of a second.

[@llllIlllIIIll]

I mean did you meet him? Did you know who he was? Maybe he wasn't as faster as a computer but he probably was faster than you.

[@charlescrowell4981]

He toyed with the hearts and mind of a nation, with all the cunning of a cat burglar. "The great Gatsby." Crime is just a left-handed form of endever.

[@plutobills5359]

Wow this is my supervisor grandfather or uncle that he was telling me about he is from Brooklyn NY but he has pictures of him with mad money and they have the same last name

[@paghal11]

Are you talking about DeMarcus Rothstein ? I know him too!

[@leetskeet4476]

What a fascinating life

[@MrNevilPinto]

I cant believe you left out the fact he was essentially a smack dealer? He was the first 'Mr Big' of the drugs scene and basically invented the drug gang i would of thought that might of been worth a mention?

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

MrNevilPinto The Black Sox, gambling and prohibition seemed to be the focus of his criminal career.

[@Nothingtochere2day]

Music played at the end?

[@Channel-ml4qv]

1920s jazz

[@claymac7895]

These guys wealth was greatly exaggerated. Both he and Nucky Johnson both died broke.

[@chd1694]

De Niro really did look like Rothstein.

[@Harshcore811]

Cool vid. Cool that he got his last bet right.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

Thanks Harsh! He was an interesting dude to say the least. No book I ever read mentioned how much he would have won.

[@Raptorizus]

What are the songs?

[@henrybadd5866]

I wish I was him in my previous life and left myself something!

[@christopherbeebe1064]

um well you may of actually been him, same end result huh.

[@zo-sire]

This is a definition of a real gangster no matter the color goes to recognize a real gangster no🧢

[@terrybarr8635]

He just was winning too much and other gangsters and gamblers were jealous and set'em up. (Haters!) Thnx for the vid Bloodletters & Badmen.

[@Bloodlettersandbadmen]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@user-ik1vv1tg8i]

Lol @ 90% of the take - in other words, they worked for him and only taking a tiny percentage as their salary

[@bradleys4941]

I just want 90% of the take!!...ok??.....LMAO!!

[@jessewilbanks2620]

“Me mudder did it” RIP brain.

[@tommyjoestallings855]

They should make a movie about him.