This year's Soapy Smith Wake

That time of year is approaching. The annual Soapy Smith Wake at Skagway, Alaska and the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. The first notice came in today's mail by way of the Magic Castle Newsletter (May 2009). The short first notice reads as follows

July 8, 2009 is the 111th anniversary of the famed shoot-out on the Juneau Company Wharf in Skagway, Alaska, where Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, the Monarch of Misrule, cashed in his chips.

To commemorate the shooting of the Klondike's most infamous con man, the entire Magic Castle will be transformed once again into an 1890s gambling den, filled with the cons, scams and bunko operations that Soapy made famous as America's First Gangster.

Come dressed as your favorite prospector, dance hall girl, grifter, rogue, vagabond, soiled dove, vigilante or a member of Soapy's notorious gang, the "Law and Order Committee of Three Hundred and Three" and you'll have a chance to win valuable prizes! This annual turn-of-the-cantury costume and gambling party is the AMA's fundraiser for the humanitarian Dai Vernon Fund. An extra admission fee of $5 is charged, which provides every guest with a hundred Soapy Dollars to spend on the vintage gambling cons presented by students of the School for Scoundrels throughout the Mecca of Magic.

Save the date - July 8, 2009 - for the Magic Castle's 5th Annual Soapy Smith Costume Party.

The story behind the Wakes along with pictures can be found on Alias Soapy Smith. More news and details of the nights festivities will be posted on this blog as they come in. I hope to see you there!