His father was the legendary bookie and Las Vegas casino owner/manager/executive
Carl Cohen (1913-86), best remembered for punching
Frank Sinatra in the face at The Sands in 1967. A belligerent Sinatra got aggressive and was yelling threateningly at Cohen because he was denied casino credit--unaware of new casino rules just put into effect. The Sands was known as the "playpen" of the "Rat Pack" and Sinatra was a longtime Sands attraction at the time of the incident. Within a week Sinatra took his show to Caesar's Palace. Cohen later became a vice-president at both the Sands and MGM Grand hotels.
