I am going by what I hear on TV. His brother said he even made him wealthy. Paddock owned 3 houses, and went on 20 cruises in the Mediterranean. He bought 49 expensive rifles and loads of ammo. He drove expensive cars. He had no high paying job for decades. So where did he get all this money? May be he was a cat burglar, if not a casino gambler?
His airplanes indicate the possibility of arms/drugs/people smuggling.
Re people smuggling: Not everyone is poor and walking across. Some are big operators and need a private flight. Sometimes on a regular basis.
If you figure out the REAL source of his income you likely have everything solved. He may have had his family and others thinking his millions were handed to him by the casinos but it is simply IMPOSSIBLE. The high stakes video poker machines he was playing are 97% payout machines, meaning if you play every hand to perfection you will LOSE 3% of your money long term. He was obviously using the VP machines to launder his money and hide the true source of his income.
early on, there was talk that he and his mother, who is still alive, made money on real estate...