Part V: Regional & Cultural · Casino Slang & Historical Terms

7.11 Kefauver Committee

Historical — Legal/Political

The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, commonly known as the Kefauver Committee (1950-1951), was a congressional investigation led by Senator Estes Kefauver that exposed the extent of organized crime’s influence in American society, including casino gambling. The committee’s hearings in Las Vegas and other cities revealed mob control of casinos, the skim, and connections between gambling and other criminal enterprises. The Kefauver Committee’s televised hearings brought the issue of organized crime into American living rooms and catalyzed efforts to clean up the casino industry.

In practice

The Kefauver Committee hearings were among the first congressional hearings to be televised nationally, creating enormous public awareness of organized crime issues. The committee’s work laid groundwork for the FBI’s later casino investigations.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary — 1,157 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.