By: History.com Editors

1928

One of New York’s most notorious gamblers is shot to death

History.com Editors

Published: November 13, 2009

Last Updated: January 31, 2025

Arnold Rothstein, New York’s most notorious gambler, is shot during a poker game at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan on November 4, 1928. He died in the hospital two days later.

From an early age, Rothstein had a talent for playing numbers. As a teenager, he built a small fortune gambling in craps and poker games, and by age 20 he owned and operated his own casino. Rothstein became a legendary figure in New York because of his unparalleled winning streak in bets and card games. However, it is believed that he usually won by fixing the events. The most famous instance of this was in 1919 when the World Series was fixed. Abe Attell, a friend and employee of Rothstein, paid some of the key players on the Chicago White Sox to throw the games. When the scandal was uncovered, Rothstein fiercely denied any involvement to a grand jury and escaped indictment. In private, however, Rothstein never denied his role, preferring to enjoy the outlaw image.

How Prohibition Created the Mafia

Starting in January 1920, the United States became a dry country. Prohibition banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol in an attempt to civilize unruly Americans (and some other reasons). The experiment had many unintended consequences, but most dangerously, it fostered the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia.

In the 1920s, Rothstein began purchasing nightclubs, racehorses, and brothels. He had such a formidable presence in the criminal underworld that he was reportedly once paid half a million dollars to mediate a gang war. As Rothstein’s fortune grew to an estimated $50 million, he became a high-level loan shark, liberally padding the pockets of police and judges to evade the law. He is fabled to have carried around $200,000 in pocket money at all times.

Rothstein’s luck finally ran out in 1928 when he encountered an unprecedented losing streak. At a poker game in September, Rothstein lost a cool $320,000 and then refused to pay on the grounds that the game had been rigged. Two months later, his gambling buddy, George McManus invited Rothstein to play what would be his final poker game.

Asked who had shot him before dying, Rothstein reportedly put his finger to his lips, keeping the gangsters’ code of silence. McManus was later tried and acquitted of the crime.

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By: Farrell Evans

Timeline

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1777

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1842

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1918

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1922

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1924

California legalizes professional boxing after 10-year ban

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1948

T.S. Eliot wins Nobel Prize in Literature

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1956

Soviets put a brutal end to Hungarian revolution

A spontaneous national uprising that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on November 4, 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country. The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more […]

1960

Jane Goodall observes a chimpanzee making and using tools

In a groundbreaking discovery, primatologist Jane Goodall witnesses a chimpanzee in the act of making and using tools on November 4, 1960—an ability previously believed to be exclusive to humans.  At the time of the observation, Goodall, a 26-year-old English primatologist, was conducting research at Gombe Stream National Park in Northern Tanzania, where she closely […]

1963

General Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam

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1979

Iran hostage crisis begins after U.S. embassy in Tehran is stormed

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1990

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2008

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Citation Information

Article title
One of New York’s most notorious gamblers is shot to death
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 31, 2025
Original Published Date
November 13, 2009

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