Truth about Frank Sinatra's teeth as they were knocked out in casino brawl

is known the world over for his crooning dulcet tones and suave good looks. He was the king of cool and the undisputed face of the Vegas strip, however even Ol' Blue Eyes himself couldn't charm his way out of a mobster's punch that left his front teeth shattered on the casino floor.

The incident took place in the late 1960s at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where Sinatra was once treated like royalty. For years, the music icon had received thousands of dollars in free chips just for showing up, considered a reward for the revenue his mere presence brought to the area.

"They used to give Frank $50,000 worth of gambling chips and let him keep all the money," singer Paul Anka wrote in his memoir My Way.

However, when billionaire Howard Hughes began buying up casinos and tightening their finances, the perks came to an abrupt halt. Sinatra, known for his fiery temper, didn't take the snub lightly.

According to Anka, Sinatra returned to the Sands still fuming the night after being refused his usual high-roller privileges. Climbing on top of a blackjack table, he shouted: "This place was sand when they built it and it'll be sand when I'm f***ing done with it!"

Although there were many attempts to calm him down, he demanded to see Sands casino manager Carl Cohen who had previously always given him credit. When Cohen, who was always believed to have mob ties, attempted to speak to him, Sinatra exploded in rage.

"Frank was having a full-blown tantrum," Anka wrote. "He threw a chair at a security guard and scalded Cohen with boiling hot coffee."

The confrontation escalated until Cohen retaliated physically. According to Anka and later confirmed by a New York Times report, Cohen punched Sinatra in the mouth, knocking out his front tooth caps.

"Cohen punched Frank in the mouth, scattering his tooth caps all over the floor," Anka wrote. According to sources, Frank raced to LA, and had his dentist flown in to replace the caps Cohen had smashed. Then, to add insult to injury, Frank got a phonecall from the men who had sold the Sands to Hughes telling him he was done.

According to Cohen's brother Mike, they highly valued Carl's decades of work and called him to apologise for what had happened. They allegedly told him "that if Frank lays a finger on you or even tries to shake your hand, he's gone."

Anka claims Sinatra was so enraged he considered using his Mafia connections to have Cohen killed, but was warned against it. "But not even the king of Vegas could go around threatening a high-ranking mobster," Anka added.