The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-28
100000 STAKED ON The ACE.
Lucky BiLDWIN'S RECORD PLAY
AT FiRO.
Tie Ownership OF . San Francisco Block
Settled by the Turn Of Caryi-Other
Freak BETS OF the Palmy bays
High i'iay on IIOliseb oal {.

SETTLED by the Turn Of ShrV-UtheT
T Freak BETS or the Paim'y Days
| High i1sy on HOuseboa''
Lucky Baldwin's account in last Sun
days Sun of the big faro doings In Virginia
| City when the Comstock boom was on was
correct enough but the old gentleman
seems to have baen a little forgetful in
stating that the biggest games ever dealt
: In the West happened In Virginia City
forgetful and Just leeils overmodest to
! boot. said Darrell Eustis. an old-lime miner
who now owns great California grape
ranch and who was one OF the organizers
Of the Native Sons of the Golden West.
Faro headquarters were never transferred
from San Francisco to Virginia City, Tho
late Ham Baker. as Mr.. Baldwin says,
slid them out of the box for the bigge At
turns that were ever made in Virginia
| City, but there wer' come dealers wearing
crownless straw hats in San Francisco
even AT that time who could good-naturedly
refer to the Gentry 4 Crittcnden outfit
Of Virginia City for which Ham Baker
| dealt, AZ piker's game.
"H's queer that the sprighly noI a
| genarian Lucky all the old-tima Cali
fornians swear that Mr.. Baldwin is over
| 80-doesn't remember how the big San
| Francisco faro games of the late COS and
| early los Overs.iadowed those of virginia
| City during the same period, particularly
J In view of the fact that Lucky himself
stood for plenty of turns in San Francisco
that he had certainly never seen ea'lalled
for size in Virgin ia City.
Il was in Tom yanbrugh's Fl Dorado
f>,,l o,tr Ernp
| the night when Lucky Baldwin had prob
| ably the biggest stake on the turn of ono
ard that was ever hazarted at faro in this
! country.
1T was In August, 1871. Baldwin had
not yet erected his palace on the block
| OF Mob Hill ground that he owned. The
! Mob Hill square was easily worth s?OO,OO
tom Vanbrugh, the proprietor of the
Fl Dorado, owned faro banks all the way
down the coast from Portland to Los Ange-
les. In addition to a big monte outfit in the
| City Of Mexico, and he was a millionaire
, several times over Vanbrugh wanted
Baldwin's block Of Mob Hill ground having
,, palace building ideas of his own. But
Baldwin wouldn't sell,
"Vanbrugh owned a whole block on Mar
! ket street, on which Baldwin wanted to put
| up big business building. Being in the
business district, this block Of Vanbrugh' s
| was worth more than Baldwins Mob Hill
square. but Vanbrugh had often offered
to trade it for Lucky's piece OF Mob Hill
ground.
Baldwin wouldn't entertain this propo-
| sition, either, but he offered big sum of
| money for the Market street property
Vanbrugh wouldn't sell it at any figure,
because Baldwin wouldn't sell or trade hi m
the Mob Hill block.
-That's the way it stood between Bald
win on this night in August, 1871. when
Baldwin stroled, along toward midnight
into the FL Dorado, after having dined
prett costly at the Cliff House. vanbrugh
was sitting at desk in his private room,
just OF the main faro room, writing, when
Baldwin stepped in
Hello, Tom, said Lucky to vanbrugh
How are you feeling3
"'Still Mob lilly replied vanbrugh.
When are you going to turn the deed
| to that ground over to me, anyhow?
TON, replied Baldwin, I'm getting
| tired Of hearing you talk about that ground
! Come out here and get behind the box.
! and Lucky led the way into the main faro
room. vanbrugh, seeing that there was
| going to be something doing Characteristic
ally Baldwnesquc, followed him with
| alacrity.
| The dealer at one OF the no-limit tables
was just shutting the cards for a new
| boxful.
-Sit down there, Tom, and get busy,
said Baldwin to Vanbrugh, pointing to
| the dealers chair.
"Vanbrugh motioned to the dealer,
who slid out of the chair, Vanbrugh slid
"'If the ace loses. Tom, Baldwin said
] without trace of excitement, TO Nanbrugh
! the Mob Hill ground is yours. If it wills
your Market street block is mine. Will
! that do!'
.vanbrugh nodded He shuffied the
| bank OF passing them over the table to
| Baldwin to cut--Lucky could GU, twenty
six cards a. good as any veteran faro dealer
and slid them into the box
| said vanbrugh to the other players around
the table whose play had been Interrupted.
| and they suspended operations and leaned
back In their chairs to watch the outcome.
Baldwin removed the Handicapped
| Panama from his head, and the cabbage
| leaf which he always wore on top OF his
| head in warm weather fell to the floor just
as vanbrugh started to slide the cards out
! OF the box. He stopped to pick it up and
replace 1t in his hat. Before he stood up
| again he was the owner of Vanbrugh's
! Market street block. The ace had come
, out on the right side while he WAS still
II you're name isn't At, Lucky, I'll
| be damned was all that Vanbrugh said
and on the following morning he trans
| ferred the Market street property to Bald
| win.
Those we're the days of whimsical
| gambling on the Slope. 1t was a period
Of all-day and all-night drinking, and over
| mellow men, most Of them with riches so
suddenly acquired that they hadn't had
! time TO stop aud figure how much they
possessed, tried to Guido one another in
| the capers they cut with Lady Fortune.
in Byron McGregor's old Mission street
| faro bank, the Alcatraz Club. there was a
famous dealer named Badly Graham,
40 called because his poll was as bare OF
, hair as pippin, except for tiny patcl,
that remained right on the crown Of his
head 1t had been a cowlick and with
consistent stubbornness, 1t had refused TO
60 when all the rest of Baldy's hair had
Zone night in the early '7os Fred
Pancoast, who had made more than a
| million In the manipulation Of Comstcck
| stocks, walked into the Alcatraz Club
| He had been religiously stunning his bed
for three days and nights running and
4 L