Capone inherited his criminal enterprises and established a dynasty of casinos. One was the Hawthorne Smoke Shop at 4837 W. 22nd St. in Cicero, and subsequently at other locations in that suburb.

Before the ban, however, gambling was a prevalent pastime, and casinos were big businesses that pulled in celebrities worldwide. The ban, introduced in 1946, came from President Eurico Gaspar Dutra; a man heavily influenced by his wife, who was a devout Catholic, and thought poorly of games of chance.