Anthony Cornero Stralla also known as "the Admiral" and "Tony the Hat" (August 18, 1899 – July 31, 1955) was a bootlegger and gambling entrepreneur in Southern California from the 1920s through the 1950s.
Antonio Cornero was born in Lequio Tanaro, Province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy.
Cornero and his family immigrated to the United States after his father lost the farm in a card game and a fire destroyed their harvest.
Cornero's father died a few years later and his mother married Luigi Stralla, a former suitor from Italy.
Using a shrimping business as a cover, Cornero started smuggling Canadian whiskey into Southern California with his small fleet of freighters.
Cornero would unload the liquor beyond the three-mile limit into his speedboats, which would bring it to the Southern California beaches.
Sentenced to two years imprisonment, he jokingly told reporters he'd only purchased the illegal cargo "to keep 120 million people from being poisoned to death".
Federal authorities raided the Culver City site, but found no evidence of bootlegging; Cornero was probably warned ahead of time.
By sailing in international waters, Cornero hoped to legally run his gambling dens without interference from US authorities.
It carried a crew of 350, including waiters and waitresses, gourmet chefs, a full orchestra, and a squad of gunmen.
During his address, Warren specifically denounced the newly-converted gambling ship Lux owned by "Admiral" Tony Cornero.
Despite battles with authorities over the legality of their entering international waters, the State of California found a way to circumvent the three mile limit.
The state refigured the starting point of the three mile limit off the coastline and determined the ships were indeed in California waters.
Reportedly, Cornero turned the ship's fire hoses on the police when they attempted to board and declared they were committing "piracy on the high seas".
In Las Vegas, Cornero contacted his friend Orlando Silvagni, owner of the Apache Hotel.
Cornero and his wife left Las Vegas and moved back to Beverly Hills, California.
He bought a 40-acre (16 ha) piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip and filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell stock in the hotel corporation.
On July 31, 1955, Cornero told an investors' meeting in Las Vegas, "we need another $800,000 to stock the casino with cash and pay the liquor and food suppliers".
Cornero is also credited with the lucrative concept of putting slot machines in the hotel lobby to lure guests as they passed by.