@Bronx:

Jackie's a big craps guy. He used to go on casino junkets that Taylor ran up in Connecticut. A.C., Foxwoods, Vegas, they even took one to Paradise Island once. They hooked up through Braciole.

Talk about a lunatic gambler. If you believe the Feds (and ordinarily, I don't), Taylor gambled over 80 million one year. That's exaggerated, of course, but he was definitely one of the biggest gamblers in the United States. No doubt about that.

He died this past summer. He was only about sixty. And here's the preachy part: His daughter could barely pay for his funeral. The guy had a warped sense of humor. His obit, and the prayer cards at his memorial, both read: Bet with your head, not over it. True story .