Hot Springs, Arkansas, earned a reputation from the early 1930s until the 1960s as a favoured retreat for some of America's most notorious criminals, including Al Capone, Charles 'Lucky' Luciano and Bugsy Siegel. They came to relax in the thermal baths, gamble and drink, in a town once described as a 'Vegas before Vegas'.
The attraction was partly the mineral-rich thermal waters, which have flowed for 4,000 years and emerge at 143F (62C). Native American tribes are believed to have used the springs long before European colonisation. From 1886 into the 1940s, the town also served as a training base for Major League Baseball, with stars such as Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson among those who visited.
Law enforcement and local government turned a blind eye to illegal gambling, liquor and prostitution, allowing gangsters to spend their spoils in the town's casinos. The grand Arlington Hotel, where Al Capone was known to stay in Room 443, still stands on Central Avenue.
Today, visitors can gamble at the Oaklawn race track, which now includes a casino, and relax in the bathhouses along Central Avenue. The Ohio Club, open since 1905, remains in its original spot and displays a vintage roulette wheel from the era of illegal gambling.