By the late summer of 1946, Guy McAfee was the best-known big shot in Las Vegas. McAfee, 58, had spent more than $1 million to open the Golden Nugget casino on August 30.Golden Nugget opened at 129 E. Fremont St. in 1946 and is still in operation today. McAfee’s reputation preceded him in L.A. Born in Kansas in 1888, he joined the Los Angeles Police force in his twenties. In the 1920s during Prohibition, while serving as captain of the vice squad, he took hush payments from bootleggers.