Cowboys and other ruthless individuals are shown in Hollywood Westerns as having their aces up their sleeves and one hand on their guns. These saloons are filled with dust. However, there was a great deal more to gambling in the Old West. In every region of the frontier, gambling was the most common and well-enjoyed form of amusement. There were men and women of every color, social class, and profession who attended the event.
In the Western Region, There Was a Time When
Campsites and towns were established along the route of the pioneers as they traveled across the American West in the middle of the 1800s. A gambling house was usually one of the first tents or structures that were constructed as gaming establishments. Taking chances and making a fortune were at the core of the pioneer mentality, and as a result, the settlers and nomads who lived in the western region were naturally inclined to gamble.
During the early stages of settlement, the majority of people who lived in these early camp settlements were male. Wagers, whisky, and whores were the three vices that were worshiped in the earliest structures, which were devoted to them. A huge tent with muddy flooring, a table, and a seat would be sufficient for the rugged riders of the period to practice the three Ws. They did not need marble palaces in which to practice the three Ws. It should come as no surprise that the whoring took place in private tents equipped with beds (or in the back of a covered wagon) and that these facilities were significantly cleaner.
In a short amount of time, these rudimentary settlements for cowboys and miners gradually transformed into actual cities. Eventually, the burlap tents were replaced with wooden structures, and the gaming hall was consistently the most popular location in the town. As the community grew and thrived, more and more ornate gaming establishments appeared. If a town in the western region had a large number of gaming establishments, and if those establishments were ornately furnished, then that town’s rank was determined by that.
It was common for modest timber constructions to have flamboyant facades that were too big in order to give the impression that they were larger and more extravagant. Within a short period of time, this became the quintessential depiction of a typical Old West village. There was no cost spared by larger communities. The boomtown was characterized by the presence of brick-and-mortar gambling establishments that were decked up with elaborate bars, pianos, chandeliers, and guest rooms for painted women and their consorts.
The practice of investing money in a gambling establishment in order to make it stand out from the crowd is a tradition that is still prevalent in contemporary casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and other locations.
What a Swarm of Dollars!
Contrary to what most people believe, poker was not the most popular game played in saloons throughout the Old West. When it came to gambling actual money, the game that was the most popular was faro. From 1825 to 1915, Faro was a fixture in each and every gambling establishment in the Old West. Pharaoh, a card game played in France in the 17th century, is where the word Faro originated. As a result of its rapid speed and straightforward regulations, Faro was very well-liked in western saloons and gambling establishments.
Some of the other games that were popular at gambling houses during the Old West era were high dice, three-card Monte, chuck-a-luck, 21, and roulette. One thing that all of these games had in common was that they were fast-paced and offered the opportunity to make a rapid profit. The majority of these games, on the other hand, made it possible for dishonest dealers to defraud unsuspecting players out of their newly obtained gold. This resulted in the emergence of immorality and bloodshed, which contributed to the mythology of the Old West being written in blood.
New Orleans, which was the gambling center of the United States in the early 1800s, was the location from which the majority of western gaming activities spread. There were corrupt dealers and confident individuals who practiced sleight of hand who were drawn to the gambling riverboats that plied the mighty Mississippi. These riverboats were the stuff of legend. A smooth dealer might easily palm the pea in a game like three-card Monte, often known as the shell game, and nobody would locate it beneath any of the shells. None of the players would do so.
At some point in time, the local authorities, together with irate gamblers who had been defrauded, began lynching corrupt dealers in the streets. In the vicinity of the canals in New Orleans, the level of violence and graft was so high that the whole region was given the nickname “The Swamp.” Very few people would have the courage to step foot there.
Travel to the West, Captain
On the other hand, this did not deter the cardsharps and confident men. They only relocated to the honkytonk cities in the west in order to rook the cretins in other places. The majority of the most well-known settlements in the western region were situated in close proximity to gold and silver mines. The people who managed gambling houses were able to generate a significant amount of cash because of their close proximity to wealthy individuals.
A fresh flood of individuals from all over the globe started to come as the towns expanded in size and affluence. This occurred as the towns flourished. A pig trough for folks who were wallowing in their misery was no longer the Old West town. In order to test their luck in the mines, the cattle ranches, and the gambling saloons, immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America started making their way into the boomtowns where everything was happening. Moreover, a significant proportion of these newly arrived individuals were female.
Only a Couple of Extra Bucks
In cities such as Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone, the expanding number of customers expressed a desire for greater activity. As the communities became more prosperous, a simple wooden gambling hut would only be able to cater to the lowest of the low-class sodbusters in the area. More sophisticated trappings were supplied by gambling establishments as a result of the influx of Southern gentlemen, professional gamblers, and men of leisure who were moving into boomtowns.
Despite the fact that prostitution was seen as a “necessary evil” in these early man caves, the region’s rising population also attracted women who were believed to be “respectable.” As a result of the fact that many of the men had women and kids, a hierarchy quickly developed inside the henhouse. Among these prairie women, the bar and dancing hall girls were among the ones who had more financial success. These females were not even close to being considered prostitutes. These ladies were a part of the scene at the most prestigious gambling establishments, where they drank with the guys, shared a smile and a dance, and earned a significant amount of money in the process.
At the same time that the prostitutes were lying on their backs beneath filthy cowboys and the women on the prairie were up to their necks in muddy laundry, the dance hall girls were making a killing—with half of the dirt for themselves. In addition, a significant number of the males of the time valued them highly. As the dance hall ladies were paid workers of the institution, they would never have the audacity to abuse them in any way. Matt Dillon would order anybody who tried to touch Miss Kitty, the proprietor of the bar, in the television series Gunsmoke to “get the hell out of Dodge.” Gunsmoke is the longest-running television series in the history of television.
The Decent, the Poor, and the Disgusting
Naturally, a diverse population will be drawn to any community that is experiencing rapid growth. A wide variety of people, ranging from hard-working miners to professional gamblers and everything in between, were among them. There is a high likelihood of violent behavior occurring in any municipality that has a significant quantity of money and vice versa pouring through its streets. In fact, the majority of the violence that was shown in Westerns on film and television was not the classic “cowboys and Indians” fighting (although there was enough of that), but rather conflicts over mining claims or corrupt gamblers. Cheating at a card table has resulted in the deaths of a great number of men. On the other hand, the villagers chose to ignore it and referred to it as frontier justice.
At some point in time, the amount of violence in cities like Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone was beyond what could be considered acceptable. As a result, the municipal administrations began to summon the most powerful agencies. In order to provide security for gaming establishments and saloons, these firearms for rent were used. And those who were known for their legendary reputations as gunslingers made enormous sums of money for their work.
Weapons on Demand
The most infamous of them even established their very own poker tables and saloons in their personal establishments. As time went on, gamblers came from all over the world to try their luck with the well-known gunslinger and card dealer working at the establishment. These hired shooters even sometimes became sheriffs in certain cases. The Earp brothers, Wyatt, Virgil, Morgan, and James, were the most well-known set of hired shooters to gain success in the western region. They were also the most successful. The epic gunfight that took place at the O.K. Corral may be traced back to the many conflicts that occurred with the criminal group known as the Cowboys. Morgan Earp was slain by Cowboys who were still alive after the gunfight, which prompted Wyatt Earp to organize a posse that went on a search for almost all of the other members of the gang and ultimately eliminated them.
During the majority of the gunfights that included Wyatt Earp, there was also a particular well-known gambler and infamous gunman who was there. Doc Holliday, a former buddy of his for many years and a fellow gunslinger legend, was shown here. Wyatt Earp returned from all of his violent, gun-slinging experiences in the Wild West without suffering any injuries, in contrast to Holliday, who died at the age of 36 from TB. He passed away in Los Angeles at the age of eighty.
Other renowned townships in the western region, such as Deadwood, South Dakota, were just as lawless and brutal. Deadwood was home to yet another well-known gunfighter and gambler from the Old West before he passed away. Legendary Old West figure “Wild Bill” Hickok was known to frequent saloons in Deadwood in order to play poker. According to the urban legend, Bill found himself playing poker while seated with his back to the entrance of a saloon. With the advent of the Old West, poker was just beginning to gain popularity. After sneaking up on him from behind, an old adversary shot him in the back of the head. “The dead man’s hand” was a nickname that was given to the hand of cards that Hickok was holding when he passed away. The cards in his hand were eights and aces.
Fall of the Old West Gambling Culture
There was a gradual reduction in the number of frontier gambling towns in the Wild West as the mines ran out of their resources. In the west, residents were driven farther out by lawlessness and instability. Over time, the California Gold Rush resulted in the establishment of a new chain of boomtowns, pioneers, gamblers who made their living professionally, and hard-working drifters. And since each and every one of them was trying to get wealthy, a fresh group of explorers made their way westward.
In addition, they took their passion for games of chance with them wherever they went and whenever they went to a new honkytonk town. Some of them even discovered other gambling dens waiting for them just beyond the horizon.