Last call before the Dry Decade
At 12:01 a.m. on January 17, 1920, “last call” parties wrapped up across the nation, as the United States officially…
prohibition
Happy New Beer’s Eve!
On the evening of April 6, 1933, lines formed outside of bars and breweries. In Chicago, WGN Radio broadcast special…
World War I played key role in passage of Prohibition
In January 1919, Albert Von Tinzler and Edward Laska published “The Alcoholic Blues,” a song describing the feelings of a…
The first mobster in Las Vegas: Part 2
Second of three parts The year 1928 initially looked good from Jim Ferguson’s standpoint. The “King of the Tenderloin” in…
The first mobster in Las Vegas: Part 1
First of three parts In the 1920s and ’30s, the U.S. government considered him a “menace to society.” Nevada law…
‘A shiny mark of incorruptibility’
Good stories usually have five key elements: a likable protagonist who selflessly rises to the occasion; a malevolent antagonist seeking…
Temperance vs. individual liberty
In 1826, a century before Prohibition, Presbyterian minister Lyman Beecher wrote, “No sin has fewer apologies than intemperance.” Beecher founded…
Iconic Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone died 70 years ago today
Al “Scarface” Capone, the ruthless yet media-friendly Chicago Outfit boss during Prohibition, died of natural causes 70 years ago today,…
Al Capone gun on display at Mob Museum
A .38-caliber revolver believed to have been seized from Al Capone during a 1928 arrest in Miami is now on…
Gangster-built Golden Nugget turns 70
By the late summer of 1946, Guy McAfee was the best-known big shot in Las Vegas. McAfee, 58, had spent…