Famous Nevada resort wife Kelly, notorious gangster (8)
I believe the answer is:
renowned
'famous' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'nevada resort wife kelly notorious gangster' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'wife' could be 'w' (abbreviation) and 'w' is found within the answer.
'kelly' could be 'ned' (outlaw Ned Kelly) and 'ned' is present in the answer.
'nevada resort' could be 'reno' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'reno' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for renowned that I've seen before include "Famed" , "Illustrious" , "Widely known and esteemed" , "Distinguished" , "Widely respected" .)