Legal and illegal gambling has long been a part of South Florida. Henry Flagler enticed high rollers to Miami by building a house of chance with every hotel. Miami was the winter home for some of the country’s most powerful racketeers. In the in the 1920s, the city of Hialeah housed Hialeah Park , an illegal but bustling horse track. By the 1930s, organized crime bosses Al Capone and Meyer Lansky had established local hangouts. And bolita, the illegal numbers game that came from Cuba and stayed, reached from Tampa to Key West. It helped propel former Miami Mayor Robert King High into the race for governor. When news was slow, High often grabbed publicity by being photographed leading raids on bolita counting houses. Former Dade State Attorney Richard Gerstein also gained publicity battling operators.

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9/22/1955, Mike Freeman/Miami Herald Staff: A state beverage undercover agent kicks down the door to a room where Devil's Haven operator D.R. Barber, 29, hid during a surprise raid on Sept. 22, 1955.

3/30/1955, Steve Wever/Miami herald Staff: Sheriff's officers, including Officer J.C. Eccles, carry gambling equipment out to a patrol wagon during a gambling raid on March 30, 1955.

11/12/1956, Steve Wever/Miami Herald Staff: Police officers arrest gambling suspects at a gambling raid at N.E. Second Avenue and Fifth Street in Miami on Nov. 12, 1956.

1/10/1959, Steve Wever/Miami Herald Staff: An officer pats down a suspect during a gambling raid in Golden Beach on Jan. 10, 1959.

12/14/1960, John Pineda/Miami Herald Staff: Max Engelberg, 60, who used the alias Dick Memphis, entering the paddy wagon during a gambling raid at the Governor Hotel in Miami Beach on Dec. 14, 1960. Engelberg is the brother of Sam Engelberg, then a nationally known handicapper.

11/01/1958, Lewis McCain/Miami Herald Staff: Cash found during a bolita raid on Nov. 1, 1958.

12/14/1960, Bob East/Miami Herald Staff: An investigator takes bets at the North Dade Civic Club on Dec. 14, 1960.

11/14/1955, Steve Wever/Miami Herald Staff: Deputy Sheriff Al Molina dumps one of two bags of bolita tickets found in Biscayne Bay on Nov. 14, 1955.

12/13/1962, Bill Kuenzel/Miami Herald Staff: Suspects are arrested during a gambling raid on Dec. 13, 1962.

1/10/1959, Steve Weber/Miami Herald Staff: Suspects hide their faces from the camera as they exit the paddy wagon during a gambling raid in Golden Beach on Jan. 10, 1959.

9/6/1952, Miami Herald Staff: Officers burn gambling equipment that they had seized in various raids throughout the county.

2/10/1979, John Walther/Miami Herald Staff: Three suspected bookies are read their rights during a South Florida gambling raid.

1/10/1964, Tom McCarthy/Miami Herald Staff: The scene of a South Florida gambling raid in 1964.

4/5/1969, Dave Didio/Miami Herald Staff: An investigator from the Metro Vice Squad looks over gambling sheets confiscated in a bookie raid.

6/7/1968, Albert Coya/Miami Herald Staff: Officer Charles Celona takes inventory of the items recovered during a bolita raid. June 7, 1968.

3/16/1962, Bob East/Miami Herald Staff: R.B. Wallace takes a bet as bookie George Bennis unhappily watches. March 16; 1962.

1/18/1954, Steve Weber/Miami Herald Staff: Joe Gorman points to a slate with the winning numbers, which was part of the gambling equipment seized during routine weekend raids of gaming and whiskey establishments in January 1954. These raids netted 52 arrests, 35 gallons of moonshine, $100 in cash, cards, dice and hundreds of lottery tickets.

3/3/1949, Bill Stapleton/Miami Herald Staff: George Patton, Carl Hollaway and Thom Ford with gambling equipment on March 3, 1949.

9/2/1949, Bill Stapleton/Miami Herald Staff: A South Florida gambling house on September 2, 1949.

5/5/1950, Miami Herald Staff: The Sunny Isles Club, once a hot spot for illegal gambling. (Earliest date on photo is May 5, 1950, though it was probably taken years earlier.)

3/1/1955, Bill Kuenzel/Miami Herald Staff: Ladies and gentleman play roulette on March 1, 1955. Note the sign, which reads: "Absolutely no currency to be used."

2/7/1960, Miami Herald Staff: Bobby Brown, acting chief of the Monroe County Sheriff's criminal division, and Lt. Rene Raiole, look over the 800 Cuban lottery tickets and the .45-caliber pistol seized during from Rafael Madan Rivas, of Miami, during a traffic stop in February 1960.

1/21/1954, Lyle Byland/Miami Herald Staff: Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Edward Worton looks through bags of evidence found during a bolita raid in January 1954.

1966, Minerva Wagner/Miami Herald Staff: Bolita equipment found during a raid in 1966.

2/29/1960, Keith Sheldon/Miami Herald Staff: Loot found during a raid of Felix Thomas Manso's bolita racket at a warehouse at 11 N.W. Fifth Street in Miami in 1960.

11/29/1966, Miami Herald Staff: About $10,000 in cash, including some $500 bills, and bolita equipment found at a bolita raid at N.W. 48th Street and 35th Avenue in Miami.

5/27/1967, John Pineda/Miami Herald Staff: Guns and bolita tickets confiscated by the Sherriff's Office vice squad during a bolita raid in May 1967.

9/5/1965, Bob East/Miami Herald Staff: Bolita equipment -- including a case of 100 balls, a special rubber stamp, bolita tickets, "live policy slips and unused policy slips -- found during a raid in September 1965.

10/19/1961, Doug Kennedy/Miami Herald Staff: Joe Gorman, head of the vice squad, looks at the cash money and equipment found during a bolita raid.

2/11/1961, George Brewer/Miami Herald Staff: Detective Frank Sanks and Chief Robert Aiken check evidence during a bolita raid at a restaurant.

5/22/1966, Battle Vaughan/Miami Herald Staff: Officer Gus Zenoz records evidence during a bolita raid at 1435 S.W. 6th Ave. in Miami on May 22, 1966.

4/23/1962, Bob East/Miami Herald Staff: Cash and equipment seized during a bolita raid on April 23, 1962.

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