Soapy Smith gambling house. Legend has it that above the entrance of the stairway leading upstairs to the gambling games was a sign that read "caveat emptor", Latin for "let the buyer beware". Smith's younger brother, Bascomb Smith, joined the gang and operated a cigar store that was a front for dishonest poker games and other swindles, operating in one of the back rooms. Other operations included fraudulent lottery shops, a "sure-thing" stock exchange, fake watch and bogus diamond auctions, and the sale of stocks in nonexistent businesses. Because of bribes, some of the police officers patrolling the streets would not arrest
Steve Buyer Steve Buyer Stephen Earle Buyer ( ; born November 26, 1958) is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1993 until 2011. In 2012, Buyer started working for R.J. Reynolds, promoting the use of smokeless tobacco. He is a member of the Republican Party. Buyer holds the rank of Colonel in the United States Army Reserve. On January 29, 2010, Buyer announced he would not seek a tenth term to the House to spend more time with his wife, who has an incurable autoimmune disease. In January 2011, Buyer became a lobbyist for McKesson Corp.