Gambling

abilenet February 10th, 2009

One of the more celebrated images in the popular imagination about life on the frontier is that of the saloon table poker game. Professional gamblers did roam the region looking for “ a game,” and making their fortunes off of the unfortunate cowboy or buffalo hunter who came into their sites.

Gambling was indeed a prominent feature of life in West Texas. Before the creation of towns and saloons, gambling had already made its way to the region. When the early line of West Texas forts came in the 1850s, soldiers spent much of their “down” time gambling with each other. When cattlemen started to dot the plains, betting on horse races, or playing cards was a favorite past time for their cowboys.

After the Civil War, professional gamblers started to make their way into the region. They tended to travel a circuit, going from frontier town to frontier town, staying as long as they found lucrative action. Some of the more famous gamblers to have spent time in the region were “Doc” Holliday and Charlotte Thompkins, also known as “Lottie Deno—the Poker Queen.” These gamblers and hundreds of others could be found on any given day in the back of any saloon in the region.

Professional gamblers preyed on cowboys and buffalo hunters. Gamblers could take advantage of these men because of the circumstances of their particular professions. Both cowboys and buffalo hunters spent long weeks out on the plains with no entertainment or amusements outside of their work. And both groups got paid in lump sums at the end of their job. Gamblers flocked to these men like bees to the nectar. Because officials did not closely regulate gambling, marked cards, loaded dice, and other methods of cheating prevailed. In describing the methods of the professional gamblers, one contemporary observer claimed, “The ordinary fellow did not have a ghost of a show.” He elaborated: “I saw a buffalo hunter come to town one day and market his season’s kill for $1,500.00.” After a single night in the town with the gamblers, the next morning, this hunter “had to borrow money for his breakfast. The gamblers had gotten it all.”

The 1870s represented the heyday of gambling in West Texas. After the railroad made its way into the region, towns became more settled and communities tightened up their control over such activities. By the turn of the century, many town had laws against gambling, and the professional gambler ceased to exist in anything other than the popular imagination.

Bibliography:

Cashion, Ty. A Texas Frontier: The Clear Fork Country and Fort Griffin, 1849-1887. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

Holden, Frances Mayhugh. Lambshead Before Interwoven: A Texas Range Chronicle, 1848-1878. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1982.

Rister, Carl Coke. Fort Griffin on the Texas Frontier. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1956.

Rose, Cynthia. Lottie Deno: Gambling Queen of Hearts. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Clear Light, 1994.

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