Ken Eto

Joseph Kenneth Eto was a Japanese American born in Oakland, California. After running away from his religious fanatic father at the age of 13, Eto began his life hopping on trains and soon discovered he had a photographic memory. With this new discovery, Eto became a card shark to support himself. Eto traveled to Chicago to continue his career as a gambler after being interred in Idaho in a Japanese internment camp during World War 2. Organized crime controlled all gambling in the city of Chicago, meaning Eto would have to give a percentage of his profits to the Chicago mob. Eto later testified for the Federal government for 17 years during the prosecution of the Chicago mob. He died in 2004 from cancer while in the witness protection program.