Although Nevada’s anti-gambling laws went into effect soon after Las Vegas incorporated in 1911, the city’s diversified economy and stable business base allowed it to grow until 1917. However, when the war effort diverted railroad activity and a national rail strike followed in 1922, the city’s finances suffered. Compounded by prohibition (1920-1933), Las Vegas became fertile territory for illegal activity. Jim Ferguson, a.k.a “King of the Tenderloin,” was the state’s first organized crime boss, who easily bootlegged moonshine by paying off local politicians. Read more Las Vegas history in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).
