The Hawthorne Smoke Shop (later known as the Ship
) was a
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
owned by American gangster
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
and run by fellow gangsters
Frankie Pope and Pete Penovich.
[Eig, ''Get Capone'', p. 102.] It was located in
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Ci ...
, where Capone had fled to escape Chicago police. Although shut down temporarily by raids several times during its existence, it provided a significant amount of revenue, earning half a million dollars in a two-year period.
roulette
Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...
, craps
Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...
, blackjack
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...
, and birdcage (chuck-a-luck
Chuck-a-luck, also known as birdcage, is a game of chance played with three dice. It is derived from grand hazard and both can be considered a variant of sic bo, which is a popular casino game, although chuck-a-luck is more of a carnival gam ...
) all took place there. The profits from the Hawthorne Smoke Shop were one piece of evidence used against Capone at his trial in 1931.[
]
Location
The Hawthorne Smoke Shop was located at 4835 W. 22nd St., in Cicero. It was in the same building as the Alton Hotel.
References
{{CookCountyIL-geo-stub
Al Capone
Casinos in Illinois