And Ely was at the top of the wide-open list. The same was true in Nevada, but many residents considered the state wide open to tolerating vice rackets. At the time, in most of the United States, gambling, prostitution and the sale of alcohol were illegal. In 1924, as he turned 31, Ferguson arrived in Ely, Nevada. With the scars of two bullet wounds on his stomach when arrested, he told jailers, “I am a farmer.” He once told prison guards he was born January 9, 1893, in Memphis, Tennessee. Little is known about the first 30 years of his life. During his reign in Nevada, Ferguson left a trail of destruction, from death to political corruption, robbery, burglary and bootlegging. Meet Las Vegas’ first organized crime figure, James “Jim” Ferguson. And, in Las Vegas, he had the title “King of the Tenderloin.” government considered him a “menace to society.” Nevada law enforcement officers said he led “one of the most dangerous gangs of criminals operating” in the state. Jim Ferguson, the first organized crime boss in Las Vegas, bootlegged moonshine and had local politicians in his pocket.
