The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-15
WAKELY DIDN'T LOSE $40, 900.
He Says the story Is Narcotic
Dream.

Dream.
The story published in the New York
papers of the yellow journal type to the
effect that Jim Wakely, a well-known
sporting man of that city, had lost s2O,-
900 in a forty-hour sitting at poker. at
tracted considerable attention here, as
Wakely is well known and in high stand
ing among the local sporting fraternity
The older members of the fraternity at
once pronounced the story a fake, The
veriest tyro in the profession, they said,
would hardly do such foolish things with
a poker hand as an old veteran like
Wakely was described as doing. Conse-
quently, they were not surprised when
they saw an emphatic denial from Wake
ly himself of the whole canard in the
New York Telegraph, the recognized
sporting journal of New York. The Tele-
graph has the following to say about the
matter:
when the young men who have been
writing how Mr.. James Wakely lost $20,-
900 on bobtail flush in a friendly poker
game recover from the effect of the drug.
that eminent sporting man and publicist
would be pleased to hold heart to heart
converse with them. He wishes TO learn
where they obtain this new sort OF mar
cote, and also to tell them a few things.
He Is particularly DESTROYS of meeting the
young persons who signed his name to a
fool statement in one of the evening pa
pers He is willing to pay to have his
head examined, and will then pay his in
itation fee into the proper sort of foolish
house.
THE story as published was TO the effect
that Mr.. Wakely. who owns hard liquor
establishment at Forty-second street and
Sixth avenue, and who is noted for his
willingness to bet on anything from a
prize fight TO wheat deal. sat in a poker
game with Tom Powers, Tim Keeney ard
a son of a London banker They played
for forty consecutive hours.
THE game was 81 ante and the highest
chips 800 At one time Wakely was goo
ahead but on the consolation pot" sat
in with bob flush and Kept betting the
limit until called. He paid out 1000 cash
and then took Messrs. Powers and Keeney
over 10 the back room of his resort and
paid them $50, 900 additional. Whereupon
the pair went to the bar and each paid
81 600 for a pine bottle OF apollinaris
water, thus giving Mr.. Wakely n conso-
lation gift OF 5000.
said Mr.. Wakely: I wish It under
stood that I am somewhat over years
old. Also l have played cards and gam
bled in other ways for more chan a few
brief moons. ! iatter myself I know the
vafue Of poker hands, and II l ever reach
the stage where ! become so imbecle as
to try 10 force a bluff when l draw a
card to a bad flush and don't fill. two
other men each draw one card and the
fourth stands pat, then l hope they will
ship me TO Bloomingdale with all posi-
BILE speed
~ really don't know where this story
came from. / have played poker lately
with varying success I have won and
lost but not IN large amounts but you
can bet your last dollar ! did not drop my
money in fool pay such as that descrb-
ed. Why, a child would know better than
to try and bluff bob" through against
a pat hand and two one-card draws.
4" This is the first time | have ever been
accused Of throwing money to the birds
or Of not knowing what gambling chance
is. The story is a lie. and a foolish one.
As for the youth who signed my name
to an alleged statement, he should either
be in Jail or an asylum, ana / don't know
yet which ! will try and have him sent
TO. 1 never saw or talked to him, and
his nerve in doing what he did is some
thing wonderful
Incidentally, those who know wakely