It's hard to argue with gambling overall, since it touches some many strata of business. The gaming is only part of it. Casinos need to be built, maintained, renovated, operated, etc. From loan sharking to garbage to food to real estate, it ticks all the boxes.
But Marcello was one of the wealthiest in his time and he didn't seem to directly operate any casino. Though there was a ton of gambling in NOLA.
Salerno was someone else who was big into gambling. I am missing many people. But how lucrative was it down the road compared to the other industries like garbage(many mafia members and associates were heads of garbage hauling/carting companies). Many of them became big in real estate and still are involved in the garbage business today. I don’t know any top gambling mobsters off the top of my head who left a fortune for their families the same way some in the garbage business did. Marcello and Salerno are possibly 2.
