Happy Birthday, Mac Klein! Club Deuce Owner Turns 97

Photo by Liam Crotty

Deuce founder Mac Klein.

​Whenever we here at Crossfade happen to be awake at 4 a.m. on Monday morning, we slip on a pair of smashed sunglasses, flag a cab, and go grab breakfast -- you know, a couple of shots and a nice cold beer -- at Mac's Club Deuce.

It's one of America's most badass booze traps -- even Playboy has acknowledged it. And yesterday, Deuce founder Mac Klein turned 97 years old.

Crossfade's buddy -- photographer Liam Crotty -- hit the dive for Mac's birthday bash and brought back a whole stack of party pics.

Photo by Liam Crotty

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"[Mac] told me he opened the Deuce in 1964," Liam writes in a blog post on his website, "and that he had always been in the bar business, first as a bartender and then he owned a place in South Miami for a few years and then another bar on Alton before opening the Deuce."

Photo by Liam Crotty

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"And the secret to his longevity? [Mac] said, 'Find something you like to do and something you're good at, and never stop doing it. Me? I like running a bar and I'm good at it. So, this isn't work for me.'"

Photo by Liam Crotty

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"When I asked what his long-term plans were, [Mac] added, 'To run the Deuce.' When I asked him what he did to stay so youthful, [Mac] said he gave up drinking and smoking ... When he turned 90."

Visit liamcrotty.com to check out the rest of Liam Crotty's party pics from Mac Klein's birthday bash at the Deuce.

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