LOYAL TO THE END
Happy Chandler's son takes celebrity details to his grave
BY DOUG FRENCH

The sons of famous men often never seem to escape their fathers shadows. The sons inevitably spend their lives trying to match their fathers' accomplishments to no avail. The fathers judge their sons harshly because their own lives are the standard they measure them by. Dan Chandler was one of those sons. His "daddy," as he called him, was Happy Chandler, Governor of Kentucky and Major League Baseball Commissioner. Happy had it all: power, charm and money. His son, Dan, only managed to make friends and memories. Two years after his death, these memories are told with the help of John L. Smith in the book, Bluegrass Days Neon Nights: High Rolling with Happy Chandler's Wayward Son, Dan Chandler. 

Given his reputation as a first-class bon vivant and legendary casino host, Chandler's first person account of his life promised to be a page-turner, with loads of juicy gossip and wild anecdotes about the rich and famous. As Happy Chandler had high hopes for his son Dan, I had high hopes for his book. Our expectations were too lofty. 

With Smith doing the wordsmithing, obviously the book is well-written. But, it is clear that Chandler pulled too many punches to make Bluegrass Days the scintillating tell-all that his life story deserved. 

The book is not long, yet Chandler spends time on the history of Las Vegas, what games are the best and worst bets in the casino and chronicling his fathers life. There are two entire books on Happy Chandler's life and hundreds of books on Las Vegas and its games. There was no need for this filler. 

Bluegrass Days is also out of date. Dan passed away before Harrah's bought Caesars, and, of course, anything else that's happened in the last two years. The book's editor could have easily brought the book up to date. 

The book does not run in any chronological order. Instead, it is a collection of anecdotes grouped together in chapters by subject. Chandler was hired and fired by Caesars seven times and also mentions working for the Aladdin. His main skill seemed to be that an extraordinary number of famous people knew him. The Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted gambler, developer and Chandler friend, Billy Walters, who described a party they had attended together by saying: "The room was filled with very important people. But there wasn't anyone there who didn't know Dan, and there was no one there who knew more people than he did."

The R-J also reported at the time: "He was better than his father, believe it or not, said Richard Crane Jr. of Los Angeles, Chandler's attorney and friend, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. Dan had a better gift of gab than his daddy ... that's certainly not putting down his father."

Although the life of the party, some comments at the back of Bluegrass Days reveal the irresponsible side of Chandler. 

"I was in his office at Caesars one day and Dan was going through his mail and throwing letters away," casino executive Claudine Williams told John Smith. "I said, Dan, that was your light bill. Dan said, 'They'll send more.'" 

Realtor and friend Marti Scholl remembers Chandler's utilities being shut off numerous times for non-payment. It was often Scholl who paid to have Chandler's utility services restored. "Dan was totally irresponsible," said Scholl, "but totally lovable."

Chandler does have some interesting insights about local gamblers, casino management and entertainers. He believes Billy Walters is the best gambler there is. MGM MIRAGE boss, Terry Lanni, is essentially described as a control freak, who doesn't want a lot of independent thinkers working for him. MGM MIRAGE's Bobby Baldwin is one of the great poker players of all time, but has lost millions playing pool. And while the Lennon Sisters were class acts along with Petula Clark and Helen Reddy, divas, Cher, Jane Fonda and Edye Gormet were big pains to deal with, according to Chandler. Joe Namath, Frank Gifford and Sly Stallone were tops at attracting the ladies. But sadly, Happy's son took the details to his grave. 

Dan Chandler seemed to know everyone and thus his value to Caesars and other casinos. But, he also probably realized that to keep the rich and famous as friends, he couldn't go around telling tales about them, and certainly a book-full of secrets wouldn't do. 

When it came to his friends and customers, Dan was an honorable man and remained loyal to the end. LW

Doug French, associate editor of Liberty Watch: The Magazine, is an executive vice president of a Nevada bank. He is the 2005 recipient of the Murray N. Rothbard Award from the Center for Libertarian Studies.