Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-03-27
A GAmBLEHS LUCK.
Chips Tossed to Him Out OF Pity Put Him
on the Road to Fortune,

Chips Tossed to Him Out Of Pity Put Him
on the Road to Fortune.
A party of horse racing followers
were standing in Willard's lobby when
tall, soldierly looking man with white
hair and snowy mustache and imperial
strobe in and advanced to the clerks
desk.
''See that feller?" said one Of the
elderly men in the group. ''That's
Lucky Jack Doty. Never hear of him?
Well, he's got story that is worth
KNOWN. Thirty years ago there wasn't
a higher roller in the south. His people
had died out on by one till only sis
ter was left, and Jack and her had
loads of money and lots of negroes. She
got religion the worst way and all of O
sudden went into a convent.
''As l said, Jack as a high roller,
but he'd kept within bounds up to that
time. When the girl had left the
world, as they call it, Jack was crazy.
runnin around, and he just cut loose
and raised fog. He played the limit,
and it wasn't long before the brace
players had layouts fixed for him IN
every town he struck His money went
and his negroes, too, and the time came
when he didn't have the price OF
shoestring. He drifted up to Memphis
one night broke aud desperate. He
went into q farrer bank and watched
the game for awhile. but be didn't get
q nod where not long before the negroes
used to break their necks to shove
chair right in front of the layout for
him.
"Old man Galloway had farrer
streak on him that night and was playin
blues at a hundred stack. Jack sat
down near him and seemed to Illustrate
the old man. because he bet 19 chips
Oh double seven and got split. He
was madden Il hornet, but he laughed
Just the same and said to Jack as he
handed over the split check to him:
"'I reckon you want stake and
made me bet odd chips. See what you
can do with that
''Jack grabbed the So. so like hun
cry man catchin bun and shot it into
the square The king won ON the turn.
Then the deuce won twice. Jack let the
$40 lay The deuce won again. Then
the king won twice, and then the deuce
won again. Neither the queen or ace
had showed, but the $500 in blue chips
were still untouched. The dealer
thought he had a cinch and never
spoke about the 5000 limit The queen
won OH the turn.
'''Draw down to $780, said the
dealer, and Jack took $40 away. Well,
the last king and all the queens and
aces won, and Jack had $500 ON every
one. He kept on playin and turned the
box down and carried off the $1,000
bank roll with him about daybre He
got tho blue split he had started Oh and
had hole bored in it and put it OH the
chain of the watch he bought next day.
He went to New Orleans and won $780,
600 in five weeks. Then he went on
bank breakin trip up the river. and he
reached st. Louis in the spring of 1869
worth 5000, 900 in solid cash. He was
comm out of farrer bank the day
after he got there when little woman
dressed like sister came up to him.
Jack, she said, gimme that thing
you've got on your watch chain and
hang this there instead, and sne held
out little medal. He broke the blue
split off and took the medal and put it
on. There were 20 crooked games fixed
for him in st. Louis. but he never
played against farrer again. He wears
that little medal yeti"
When Doty came out few minutes
later, half a dozen pair of eyes searched
his vest. Dangling from the heavy gold
chain lat crossed it was the little
medal. " Washington Star.
Tbooloyv ond poI;ticu