The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1888-03-03
A BIG GAME OF FARO.
Joe Timberlake Lost $4,000. and had
Fun Enough for One Jamboree.

The center OF all stirring event
in Nevada is Virginia City. Durin,
the war money was abundant, ant
the lucky miners sometimes carried
fortunes on their persons as care
lessly as they wore a brace of six
shooters. There was no lurking O.
concealment about the big games o
faro and roulette which occupied
much of the spare time of cowboys
and statesmen, and the business
man, or ranch owner, who coulc
"go call his cattle home" from &
thousand hills.
Poker was entirely too slow &
game for the Nevada City boys
albeit there was generally quie1
game going on at the two leading
gaming houses in the city, at which
such men as VIM. Nye, the famous
New York politician, first governor
and then United States Senator
from Nevada, with his attorney
general and the other leading pol
itical minds, were ever ready to
make an all-night poker game
which generally began with s.
"limit," and ended when every man
was broke save the man with a
"bobtail hush," who raked in the
pot toward morning; and some.
times the game lasted two days and
two nights in succession, and the
"blear-eyed gambler homeward bent
his steps" only when he went broke.
The most famous gambling house
in Nevada was operated by Gentry
and Crittenden. Gentry was long,
lean Texan, a relative of Meredith
P. Gentry, the well-remembered
Whig orator and statesman of Ten
nessee, the companion and friend
of Jimmy Jones, once governor OF
Tennessee and longtime member
of Congress.
The house of Gentry & Critten-
den took the place of a great hotel
in Virginia City. The capital OF
the gamblers was 100000, and the
game knew no limit A frame
house inside a splendid gambling
palace, but rough in exterior, was
only of one story and four rooms.
One was sleeping room and next
to that was the poker-room for
State officials and their elite friends,
for the presence Of leading men
gave dignity and a semi-official
character to this, the best and big
gest gaminghouse in the far West.
The front room, opening boldly
from the main street Of Virginia
City, was a bar-room, with rough
splendor of Brussels carpets, solid
silver goblets and rarest cut-glass
decanters and paintings.
The next room contained two
faro tables and two roulette wheels,
and at 6 P NJ. the poker room suf-
fered a transformation into a din
ing-room, where cards of admission
were needless.
A bettor did not ask if there was
a limit to the game. Its hackers
counted their millions as Eastern
gamesters count their thousands.
In October, 1868, a burly ranchman
named Timberlake, worth million,
came up from New Mexico, having
heard of the fame of Gentry & Crit
tenden's faro place, for it was known
from British Columbia to the gold
en- slope of the Pacific.
Joe Timberlake was known as
millionaire, in good standing with
the San Francisco banks and bank
ers. Undertakes telegram was
good with Mackay, Flood & O'Brien
for 100000.
The old ranchman, with his cor
duroy trousers tucked in his boots,
was a welcome guest. He chatted
an hour with Gov. Nye at the table
d'hotel dinner, and after getting
two bottlessof Pommery See inside
of him, the old man sauntered into
the faro room.
"Give me a stack of thousand
dollar fish," said Timberlake.
Certainly, all you want, replied
the suave Crittenden, a nephew of
the once Kentucky United States
Senator of that name.
One thousand went on the jack.
It went where the woodbine twin
eth. Timberlake lost $4,000 with
out winning a bet. He swore like
our army in Flanders, and got out
side of another bottle. Luck
changed, and at l A. NJ. the old cat
tleman was $4,000 ahead of the
game. Flushed with victory, Tim
berlake ordered wine for the house.
But the Genius of Faro is as false
as tickle, to the worshippers at her
gilded shrine. The old man made
a call with 81 900 and picked up
5000. But luck failed him from
that moment. Not another game
ster staked dollar, such was the
absorbing interest lin the great game.
At break Of day the burly ranch
man, without handing in one dol
lar, playing well-estahlished credit,
was out just $41 600.
He was cross as a bear with a
sore head, but tried to SMILE Zone