Sunday Chicago bee. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1925-19??, 1942-08-02
HONEST JOHN SLAUGHTER.
NOTORIOUS GAMBLER, DEAD

MILWAUKEE, WIS, July 3O-
Honest John" Slaughter, fabu
1ous gambler and underworld
overload during the roaring Twen-
ties, died Of a heart attack We'd
nesday, July p, in a charity bed
at the Prince Hall Masonic Home
at Rockford, Ill. He died at the
age Of "a as he started-penniless.
Slaughter's career reads like
fairy tale full Of romance and adj
venture, but with its heartbreaks
and bitterness. too. He rose from
a run on the railroad as a Pull
man porter, to the gaudy heights
Of king of the gamblers"
The notorious gambler was a
huge and imposing figure, standing
feet 6 inches in his stocking feet.
His flashy dress and sparkling
fiRger diamonds were the "talk Of
the town" when he was in his hey
day.
Lost His Fortune
But Honest John" lost his for
tunes just as he made them-very
quickly. old cronies say though
that win, lose or draw, his was a
poker face; he took his luck as it
came without batting an eyelid.
Slaughter's fortune, said to have
been around 100000, began with
a $40 bill;leaned him by a jeweler
friend and the lucky click Of club
house dice. Two hours later the
sum had been run up to 5000. 1t
continued. to mount from that day
forward untiltit had reached the
half million mark.
The appellation Honest John"
was attached to the character be-
cause of his reputation to never
IDEAL from the bottom, always
give a sucker a. break, and to ha-
bitually return losings to disgrun-
tied players in his gambling den
known as "The Bucket Of Blood. =
Four hotels, a saloon, stable
of thoroughbreds, and vast real
estate holdings attested to the af-
fluence of Slaughter His hotel,
the Turf in West Wells street was
the headquarters for visiting ce-
lebrities and the towns smart set
Later he. built the American the
atre and added it to his proper
ties. He leased the playhouse out
to prominent vaudeville shows
then touring the country.
Lady Luck deserted the color
full underworld figure with the adj
vent ofssWorld War l, and Slaugh-
ter lost in rapid succession his no
tells andobar, the theatre and va
rious real estate parcels. Disap-
pointed but not discouraged, FFHon-
est john pulled up stakes anc
migrated to Chicago ito change
his luek.
Chicago residents Of the perioc
remember a real Estate firm
Slaughter started-one Of the few
legitimate enterprises he sought t
make asfortune from but the fate
were unkind and the business soor
folded He moved to Gary, Ind.
where "things didn't 60 right anc
his losses were heavy.
The gambler decided to return
to Milwaukee to seek a fresh star
in a gambling emporium. He go
his start.sand more until the Law
moved ia.-in 1928 and closed his
joint as "a public nuisance" H
was fined as the operator Of
gambling house and his doom wa!
foreshadoWed.
Conditions became worse anC
worse for Honest John" until il
1888 poverty forced him to apply
for old age pension benefits. Au-
thorities granted the old man So
monthly. Old timers recalled a
the time that Slaughter would tiE
a pretty waitress that amount
when he was in glory.
Two years ago he was admitted
to the fraternal home to await the
inevitable end-death. 1t came
as suddenly as did Honest Johns
first gambling winnings.