‘His Legacy Is Undeniable’: ‘Yellowstone’ Star Cole Hauser, 50, Teams With Sylvester Stallone for ‘Blood Aces’
'Yellowstone’ Star Cole Hauser and Sylvester Stallone, 79, bring the dark history of Las Vegas to life
If you’re anything like us, then you’ve been dying for Yellowstone star Cole Hauser to appear in more projects. After all, five seasons of him as Rip Wheeler wasn’t enough! And it seems the actor agrees, because he recently teamed up with Sylvester Stallone—another Taylor Sheridan actor—to bring Doug J. Swanson’s bestselling book Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker, to life. To learn more about the adaptation, keep scrolling.
What to know about the ‘Blood Aces’ adaptation
Earlier this month, Hauser and Stallone announced that they would be teaming to produce a MGM TV show based on Swanson’s 2014 bestselling Blood Aces. Hauser will play Binion, and as of publication it’s believed that Stallone will just be producing it under his company, Balboa Productions.
“Benny Binion’s story is a sweeping American saga of ambition, risk and reinvention, set against the mythic backdrop of a rapidly evolving Las Vegas. With Sylvester Stallone and Cole Hauser at the helm, this project brings together bold, cinematic storytelling and a deeply compelling central performance to explore the origins of modern poker and the high-stakes world that shaped it,” Lindsay Sloane, MGM television’s head of scripted series, told Deadline. “We’re thrilled to partner with such an exceptional creative team to deliver a prestige drama that is as gripping and unpredictable as the man at its center.”
The series will mark the first time Hauser and Stallone have worked together, but in the past they both have starred in shows created by Sheridan. Hauser was obviously in Yellowstone, and Stallone is currently starring in Tulsa King.
“Douglas J. Swanson’s book captures the incredible life of Benny Binion, a New West icon who was a conduit connecting many worlds, some glamorous, some dangerous, some shady, but all intriguing, while helping to build the foundation for both Las Vegas as we know it and the explosive worldwide popularity of poker,” Stallone said in a statement to Deadline. “This is a story that will captivate audiences, and it’s a role made for Cole Hauser to play. I am proud and excited to partner with Cole to bring this story to life.”
The real story of Benny Binion
Lester Ben Binion, better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator, who helped establish the National Finals Rodeo and the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas in the 1970s. He tragically died in 1989 from heart failure. He was 85 and is survived by his five children.
“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 told Deadline. “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.”
Following his death, Binion remained a Vegas legacy, and in 2014 Swanson released the book showcasing his lasting impact on the gambling world.
“Lots of myths and tall tales surround Benny Binion. The family used to tell one in which Binion had a traffic accident in Dallas and was set upon by no less than a dozen thugs. That’s when Binion supposedly ripped a bumper from his car and used it to fell each and every savage attacker. He’s like Russell Crowe in Gladiator. The truth is he hit one person, a middle-aged woman.” Swanson told The New York Times in 2014.
“I spent a lot of time trying to verify stories like that. An old friend of his told me that Benny once settled a dispute with his upstairs neighbors by firing his gun into the ceiling until they hastily moved out. There was no way to prove that, but when I asked Benny’s daughter Brenda Michael about it, she said, ‘That sounds like something Daddy would do.’ So I went with it,” he continued.
‘Blood Aces’ TV show release date
The Blood Aces TV show is currently in pre-production, meaning that it doesn’t have a release date yet.
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