The Shell Game

The Magic Castle in Hollywood has been a private club for magicians
since 1963, and its walls are lined with portraits of magicians
past and present. Among them is a portrait of one of the earliest
American organized crime bosses and conmen, Jefferson Randolph
"Soapy" Smith. And though it may seem strange that this "mecca of
magic" honors a criminal, Soapy's legacy reveals just how blurry
the line is between a delightful trick and a dirty one.  Say
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Love and Phoebe Reads a Mystery. Artwork by Julienne Alexander.
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