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When Huey Long was elected to the U.S. Senate, he announced that the leaders of Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes had convinced him not to enforce anti-gambling laws.
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Courtesy of Louisiana Secretary of State
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Hey Blake,
My husband knows very little
about a family business -- O'Dwyer's Gambling House in Jefferson. We'd like
to supply this information for a book that will feature him and other Irish
Americans. Can you point us to the right resource?
Emmy O'Dwyer
Dear Emmy,
Some say that I'm a pretty good source, so
I will tell you some of the more interesting bits about George O'Dwyer and the
gambling connection, perhaps more than you want to know.
There are folks everywhere who remember the
1920s when New Orleans had no casinos, but just up river in Jefferson Parish
and down river in St. Bernard Parish illegal casinos thrived. They thrived because
the local sheriffs allowed them to operate in exchange for payoffs. Frank Clancy,
sheriff of Jefferson Parish, was so powerful that he was better known as "King
Clancy." Gamblers and casino operators were pleased with this arrangement, but
when the opposition caused enough trouble, the police would raid a few places
to satisfy them. The gambling establishments would shut down -- temporarily.
When Huey Long was elected to the U.S. Senate
in 1935, he announced that the political leaders of Jefferson and St. Bernard
parishes had convinced him not to enforce the anti-gambling laws since the majority
of the people were very much in favor of gambling. Casino operators felt secure.
In 1942, George O'Dwyer purchased and operated
a gambling house -- Club Forest -- on Jefferson Highway just above the parish
line. It was a major, long-standing establishment in the area that offered dice,
roulette, slot machines, and other games of chance. Then in 1944, he sold it
to Henry Mills of New Orleans for $385,000 cash.
Casino owners and gamblers felt even more
secure when Earl Long was elected governor in 1948 and illegal gambling spread
over the entire state with the exception of north Louisiana. In Jefferson Parish,
Frank Clancy was still "King."
Just across the road from Club Forest, George
O'Dwyer opened a swank new club at 100 Jefferson Hwy. and operated it under
the name O'Dwyer's. It opened in 1949 and closed in 1951 along with many other
establishments because in January, U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver and his Special
Committee to Investigate Crime had come to New Orleans. "King" Clancy was dethroned.
In 1952, the new governor, Robert Kennon,
and his superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, Francis Grevemberg, led
the way in enforcing the gambling laws that local sheriffs ignored.
But those interested in taking money from
anyone who wanted to be separated from it figured out another way for gambling
in Jefferson Parish to continue. Late Tuesday night, May 26, 1953, five men
were arrested by the state police in a gambling raid on a Jefferson Parish residence
at 1420 Monticello Ave. that had been converted into a casino. The house was
elaborately furnished with most of the gambling paraphernalia in the living
room/dining room combination. The bar for the patrons was in the basement. It
was previously the residence of O'Dwyer's son Edward. However, relatives said
George owned it.
Armed with a search warrant, the raiders knocked
first to gain admittance, but the door was quickly slammed in their faces. However,
using hammers, they broke through several doors in order to get in the place
and recovered what was said to be the most gambling equipment seized in a single
raid by state police. The list of confiscated items included three roulette
tables, three blackjack tables, about $1,200 in cash, and four loaded pistols.
Record books revealed that for the previous two months the average profit was
about $10,000 a night.
There were about 50 surprised customers in
the house when the police crashed in. A few managed to jump out of windows and
escape, but most were simply questioned and released.
While the raid was in progress, George O'Dwyer
drove into the driveway of his sister's house next door to where the action
was going on. He collapsed and died of a heart attack right then and there.
He was 56 years old.
