The S.S. Rex

Los Angeles loves to party, and the days of prohibition were no exception. L.A. had it's share of speak easy's but the most interesting were the floating gambling barges located 3 miles off the coast. The most famous of these was the S.S. Rex, an 1887 grain ship that Mobster Tony Cornero converted into a casino and had moored off the Santa Monica pier in May of 1938. During its 3 month life as a party boat, it contained a dance floor with orchestra, full kitchen, and a staff of 325. The casino had over 100 slot machines, a 400 seat bingo parlor, and a horse book that got results via short-wave radio. It also sported craps, roulette, and plenty of imported spirits. More than 2500 guests arrived daily from the fleet of launches servicing the barge, and netted Corneros and his investors ( Bugsy Siegal and Actor George Raft) some $300,000 a month.

    This and the other barges did not escape the attention of the authorities. Although technically 3.1 miles from the pier, a judge later ruled that the bay was bounded by Point Dume to the North and Point Vicente, putting the Rex within California Jurisdiction. Attorney General Earl Warren was able to quickly shut down several but Cornero was not a push over. After attempting to sneak aboard the ship with plain clothes officers and being summarily returned to the dock, Warren gathered a flotilla of government boats and laid siege. At first Cornero's men kept the boats at bay by spraying them with fire hoses, and lined the roof with men armed with sub-machine guns. The stand off lasted nine days until Cornero suddenly surrendered, ending another unusual era in the history of Los Angeles.