Maps of Historic Gaming Dens

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Clubs often changed owners, locations and names, but the general area and primary circle of families involved with the clubs remained largely consistent. While the gaming activity was illegal, it was largely tolerated (when not explicitly supported) by the public and police, until Tennessee Senator Estes Kaefauver's investigations began the process that led them to shut down in the 1950s. The club owners were often associated with organized crime rings, and many have suggested that the New Orleans illegal gambling circuit was the proto-type for Las Vegas casinos.