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Zeke Caress

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ezekiel Logan "Zeke" Caress (1884–1968) was an American bookmaker. He worked in Mexico at the Agua Caliente race track and at Santa Anita in California.[1] He bought Jim Jeffries' saloon at 326 S. Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles in 1917, and the building became something like a central headquarters for the Los Angeles organized crime organization run by Guy McAfee that was known as the Syndicate.[1] Caress was sometimes called the "king of the bookies".[2] He handled off-track betting for clients, including reportedly actors of the Los Angeles film industry, and according to Time magazine in 1935 readily took bets of US$25,000 (equivalent to $555,583 in 2023).[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Local lads grabbed early rackets, graft". Daily News. 1952-03-21. p. 47. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  2. ^ "Ask New Trial in Race Track Gambling Case". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. 1920-10-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  3. ^ "Sport: At Churchill Downs". Time. 1935-05-13. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
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  • jhgraham (2016-12-04). "Zeke Caress". J. H. Graham. Retrieved 2024-06-07.