His book served as the basis for the popular and Emmy Award-winning HBO period political crime drama TV series Boardwalk Empire.

[7] From 1975 to 1980, Johnson was elected as a Democrat to the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders,[6][8] and he was a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly in 1979.

[3] Over the course of his legal career, Johnson also represented the Press of Atlantic City, K. Hovnanian, Renault Winery, Ole Hansen & Sons, the Hamilton Township Planning Board, the Mullica Township Planning Board, and the Greater Atlantic City Hotel-Motel Association.

Miss America, the Monopoly board, casino gambling, the ocean, the Boardwalk...Nucky was just the most interesting part of it, though.

[5][12][11] As of 2023, Johnson serves "as 'of Counsel' at the law firm of Hankin, Sandman, Palladino, Weintrob & Bell, P.C., in Atlantic City.

[10] Terence Winter, the show runner of Boardwalk Empire, described the book as "the history of Atlantic City from when it was literally a mosquito-infested swamp until the present day.

"[15] In 2010, Nelson was asked by the New Jersey State Superior Court to cease promoting the book and the series in order to preserve the ethical neutrality of his position as a judge.