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HowStuffWorks takes a look at six famous outlaws of the Wild, Wild West, how they lived and how they died.

The Blonger brothers even outdid Soapy Smith.

4 minute read The name Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith is well known amongst magicians, Old West historians and cheating aficionados. Soapy evolved from being a street swindler to a full-time racketeer with dozens of bad men and ladies of negotiable affection on his payroll. But it all started with a simple little scam that not only gave Jefferson Randolph Smith his nickname, it seeded the future of a criminal enterprise that ended, inevitably in disaster. Soapy Who? Before I describe the scam, a few words on who Soapy Smith was. Between 1879 and 1898, Soapy owned sev...

‘Our fates are going to be the same.’ In 2019, Larry Persily, owner of the Skagway News, announced that he would give away his local Alaskan publication to a person or a pair demonstrating journalistic skill, self-motivation, grit, and—above all—affectionate dedication to the quirks and quiddities of rural small-town reporting. Nationalnewsoutlets picked up the story as a sort of lark, emphasizing the remote and small-town nature of Skagway, the rarity of the giveaway, and then, in a few short lines, the challenges of sustaining critical local news coverage. In such stories, Persily ...

What It Was Really Like Gambling In The Wild West By Jan MacKell Collins/Jan. 26, 2021 3:34 pm EDT/Updated: Jan. 26, 2021 3:36 pm EDT With casinos sprinkled all across America today, most people think they have a grasp on the fine art of gambling. During the 1800s, however, gambling in the Wild West was quite different. Especially in the Wild West, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought thousands of prospectors who enjoyed trying their luck at games of chance in places like San Francisco. Soon, primitive gaming houses were popping up everywhere, from large cities to small mining camps. L...