Evening journal., 1905-08-05
OLD GAMBLER'S
"REMINISCENCES
He Relates His Experiences
While Trying to Raise a
Stake
FORTUNES WIN AND THEN LOST

.l bNeFypol1 bduiple1f iriudlhtd lut
old Spokane glmbler as he carefully
picked a heck OF dust off his coat and
iresumed tire contemplation Of his cigar.
i"Of course, aid folks dont gamble alike.
but nearly every enterprise that is
undertaken IS a gamble
Ths old gambler Is relic OF the days
when the whirr OF the roulette wheel
the click cf checks and the rattle Of
dice were nightly heard on lower How
ard street. He was a type Of the well
dressed. Well fed and ba-dianonded
individuals who were the cocks OF The
walk IN the lower end Of town before
the law making gambling a felony went
Unto operation. When the felony law
took effect the old GAMBLER forsook the
green cloth, and only i'm "reminiscences
lives over the days when he iwhs a
snight OF Dame Fortune.
"rhe farmer is gambler" cortinu-
ed the old gambler. HE stakes his cap-
ital and work on the weather and the
market The merchant lays in q stock
OF goods. and II the demand IS right
he reaps a harvest. IL is SO with an
forms OF enterprises. lha one differ-
ence IS that When a man plays faro
bank or the wheel he gets quicker ac-
tlon for his money.
"Docs anybody ever make a stake
gambling Why. sure. ] met "A man
on tine street the other day who owns
one Of the best ranches an the Bitter
Root Valley. near Missouia. He got
his start by a whining ne made in the
old Owl here.
~ won't give you the mans name.
but he came to Spokane about ten years
ago from Colfax. He had been working
Ia a livery stable there ana had about
$40 when he landed here He played the
wheel and the bank. and finally lost all
his money. lie went ana soaked his
watch for SIS. He fooled around and
lost all but s. Of this shooting craps
and bucking the tub game
He then went over and bought 81
worth of checks at one Of the falD
games. He immediately started TO
win. He won for six days steady. lie
beat MS out of $1,000 in that time. One
Saturday mislht he came 20 me and gave
me the money to PUT in the safe for
him. on the following Monday morn
ing ne deposited the money in the bank
lard went over to Mlasoui1. He bought
a ranch i'm the Bitter Root Valley. and
io-Cay Is worth 100000 When l met
him the other day he told me that he
had never bet a cent since he made his
stake.
THE principal thing in gambling is
10 i0ncw when to quit. There was n
young fellow out he.e Bout ten years
ago who was connected with one of
the swell families On New York I read
p 'n the paper not long ago about him
( malrYjng some society girl back there.
J This young fellow was quite plum
ger. He won about $1,000 one night be-
fore midnight. He gave me the money
to put in the alfe for him. 1t was AM
p in big bills. After l had put the money
{ tn the safe / was closing up the game
s when the young fel5ow sauntored over
S and, putting 81 on the layout. said n.
! wanted to win enough to take a friend
90 luncheon. nlde a few turns and
] won the dollar He then bet $780,
{ turned and won that He got to bet
, ting $3.50 and $780, l won his money
ais fast as / turned the cards. 1 kept
tab Of how much he had I'm the safe
The last bet he made was SS75 I won
this from him. cleaned him out OF
his $4,000 Winning in one deal. When
he loat his la9t bet he borrowed $40
and getting a fresh cigar, went out and
took his friend to luncheon with as lt.
tie apparent concern as though he hat
only lost s..
"One of the funniest games that
ever got into was a poker game I'm
Little town i'm Nevada "a good man,
years ago There Nvas a fellow Their
that thougrt that 'he wias the real, gen
iline thing i'm the line of "a poker play
4 er. In those days ! could play poke
myself The native with the poke
d, playing popensitias ram a restaurant
~ aaid he used to do his playing in tn
- Kitchen after he closed up. A fiden
I. had come with me from San F'ramuisc
10 the burg, and, getting this fuienl
went down to the restaurant alon
4 ahout mdnght. Was that friend q
). mime a poker player? Aye aye car
itain.
/" I'VE landed IN the chop foundry hi,
as the fellow was closing up IL TOO
70 but fow words to start game an
we were soon hard at work i'm the l0ltcf
en-. Well, in a shoct while we had hii
cleaned out of about SOCIAL the mone
u he had.
THE restaurant IMAM was game AN
wanted TO know If he could bet h
stove and four lengths of stovepip
Stoves and stovepipes were worth a O,
of money i'm the little towns I'm Nevad
n, in those days My partner figured thi
N If we We're going to go into the rei
tauaant business we might as well 9
right and told the native that he ooul
~ bet his stove and stovepiDe.
1t wtls my deal. and after the oarc
- We're dealt the restaurant man made
a length OF stovepipe to draw. My pan
nor and myself stayed for s. had
oe bum pair. and did not better them O
the draw. My partner bet s. and III
res.aumnt man RAISED him a length Z
l stovepipe. I dropped out ANA my pair
p" ner saw the raise and came back wit
another s. The restaurant man stas
ed and uaised him the stove. My pai,
= uer saw the stove for 5000
"On the showdown my partner ha
three aces and the re'tau.a~l man ha
four queens. From then on 2 was a
his way. That was the nearest I ev,
came IN getting in the restaurant bus
ness ''-SpoSane Spokesman Review.
- The man who puts Ave cents I'm n
collection basket always wants 10 ha,
sv five dollars worth OF say IN running N
I.I..