On September 24, 1980

 

It's best if we just let the legendary remain legends. Let's tell the story and leave it at that. You don't have to look to deeply. You don't need the rest of the story. 

On September 24, 1980, an unknown man arrived at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada with two suitcases: one containing $777,000 in cash, the other empty. He placed the full amount on the Don't Pass line on the craps table. The shooter established a point of six and two rolls later rolled a 7. The unknown man left Binion’s with two suitcases: each containing $777,000 in cash. He then disappeared. 

I think we should just leave the story there and be happy with it. The Suitcase Man would really want you too. You see, this mysterious man was a real person with real problems. He had the kind of problems that people just didn't talk about back in the 80's. 

His name was William Lee Bergstrom and he had a secret. It's not much of a secret today but remember this was the 80's. Hell, Ellen's show was cancelled when she revealed her secret in 1997! So, the Suitcase Man liked his privacy and guarded it closely. 

He died in 1985 at only 33 years old. He killed himself after a bad breakup with a man he adored but couldn't talk about. It was messy and scandalous and secret. 

Leaving aside the tragic part, The Suitcase Man will always be a legend to me.