The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-09
POKER WITH $1,000 CHIPS.
A Famous Game at Leadville in the
Early Days.


From the New York sun.
Wilkesbarre. Pa. Dec. lon the reg
lister OF the Wyoming Valley Hotel in this
city appears the entry "Wilfred T Her
rick. Colorado" written in a scrawling
hand. indicative OF little practice with the
pen. To those who do not know him
Herrick looks like prosperous business
man. He is about IS years OF age. of mag
niheent build, with pleasant face and a
lavish display OF diamonds. After he had
registered and while he was sitting in the
lobby Of the hotel a Wiikesbarre man
strolled in, recognized Herrick as an old
Leadville acquaintance. and greeted him
with "Hellol Whit how are your and a
hearty shake, which was returned with
Hello! Walt. glad TO see you" The
Wilkesbarre man. Walt Dilley. then in
troduced Herrick to several acquaintance
as a Leadville friend who had made n
barrel of money in Colorado mines. and
told them on the quiet that he was the
highest player in Colorado. After several
rounds of drinks the conversation turned
naturally to Leadville In the old days.
body gambled.
Whit" suddenly asked Dilley, do you
fight the tiger or shuttle them up any
more2''
Not much. Walt I've about quit" re-
piled Herrick "Since they've got to put
ting a bride on the game you can't win
81 If you beat four aces with a straight
flush. A 81 or S limit poker game and
s. to cases and ten to doubles at faro is
ha haa fnr IN
most places now. The game amt what 1t
used TO be in the old days when you played
for the dust in sight, and you could bet
as high as your pile would permit. There
was no bride on the game in those days.
and if you could beat a pair of tens you
could win more dust than you ever see
on the table in any game now"
What was the biggest game you ever
played in, Wifi"
The biggest game ever sat in, and the
one by which both money and life we're
lost, was in Phil Goldens place In the rear
of the Tabor Grand opera house in Lead
vile. There were FIVE men in the game,
all pretty high rollers, excepting, perhaps,
myself. The players were II. A. w. Tabor,
owner of the Little Pittsburg and Chrys-
ollte mines. and his partner in the Clar-
endon hotel, w. II. Bush; Dick Dillon, dis
coverer and half owner of the Little Chief
mine; John Arbuckle. half owner of the
Morning Star. Evening Star and Water
loo mines; a man names Louis Cohen,
who was at the head of the syndicate that
bought the London mine on Mosquito
range. on which the Hungarian Count put
up the big windmill and spent $4,000 be-
fore he quit, and myself
Each man bought $4,000 worth of chips
at the start, with the whites at SIS, blues
at 800. reds at $3.50, and yellows at $1,000
each. We played the old-fashioned game
of poker, where the dealer antes and you
can pass your hand and come in again IL
the pot is opened. The modernjack pot
had not yet been introduced into poker.
The players all had plenty of money, and
liked stiff game. The ante was S25. and
the game ran along with varying success
for all. except Cohen, who won steadily.
and was perhaps $1,000 winner when the
play OF the game came up. II was Tabor 8
deal, and Cohen, who sat at the dealer $
left, went a hundred blind, Arbuckle strad-
died. making it four hundred TO draw
cards. Bush skinned his hand and came,
as did Dillon. l dropped out, as / didnt
have pair. Tabor got in, and when 1t
came to Cohen he made the blind good
and made it five hundred harder to play.
Arbuckle stood it, and so did Bush, Dillon
and Tabor.
when it came to drawing cards Cohen
stood pat; Arbuckle drew two to three
sevens and caught two tens; Bush took
one card to four hearts and caught his
man; Dillon took one card to queens and
Fights and didn't fill, and Tabor caught
a nine spot. drawing to mines and deuces.
1t was Cohens first say, and he bet Off
two yellow chips. Arbuckle swelled him
three yellows with his seven fun, and Bush
called him with his flush. When il came
to Tabor he studied awhile, pinched his
cards close to his breast, and then
Cohen shifted about in his chair as though
very nervous, shuffied his chips in and out,
getting them all mixed, and then began to
count out his chips and slide them to the
pot. In counting his chips he apparently
made a mistake and counted a yellow for
a white chip. While all the others inter-
ested noticed the mistake nobody said a
word. Cohen put in all his chips and bills
enough to raise Tabor's bet $4,000, as he
said, but he had in reality, by the mistake,
raised 1t $15,975.
THE players all knew that Cohen would
play pair of deuces or bob-tailed flush
as high as he would full hand or bet
ter so that the fact of his having stood
pat, did not cut any figure in the play.
Arbuckle called promptly, putting up $50,
co., knowing that he had nearly a thousand
the best of it, besides holding full hand
and having an even chance to win. Busch
hestated awhile and then threw his hand
in the deck. Tabor, besides holding a nine
full--a very good hand in such a game
and knowing Cohen's weakness for bluff
fling, was also after that extra yellow
put into the pot by Cohen, and as the OPP
portunities for catching the willy fellow
mapping were rare indeed, he was not
slow in putting up his cash.
i've got a nine full said Tabor, throw
ing down his hand on the table face up.
"'That let's me out, said Arbuckle; I've
got a seven full.
"'Vell, said Cohen, as he raked in the
pot, L got four aces. You fellers fought
/ didn't know dot yeller ship vas mixed
NIT dose vites up. fought you tink dot,
un' 1 know l couldn't loose him nit four
aces ven We don't blay shtraights.
when the game closed 1 was about
even. Cohen was way winner, of course
Tabor was stuck pretty deep, as was Dill
lon; and Arbuckle, besides loosing a lot
OF cash, owed Bush $1,000. Out of that
game and that debt there grew a quarrel,
which ended in Arbuckle being shot in the
back on Harrison avenue one night and