The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-06-30
-THEY BET THEIR sHIRTS- Gotes AbhoFFed His Nicknome; Betcho Million Played As AvidIy For Pennies As Gigantic Stokes
By NED BROWN (NEA Stan Correspondent

John W. Gates was an inordinate gambler, hated a piker, would back his opinion on anything with oodles of cash, yet knew when to stop. Where other plungers were prone to overbet, Betcha Million Gates was quick to sense when to pull out.
 Losing bets of $25,000 and S50,- 900 to bookmaker Joe Ullman, Gates calculated: "Betcha $l0o,000 on Deshabille." The mare was to 10. There were only four other starters.
 "Ill lay you S60,000 to $l000 000," Ullman demurred.
 While they haggled. the horses were of. Deshabille finished last.
 Damn" shouted Ullman.
 "Piker," chortled Gates.
 Gates was in England in 1901 when the Ascot Gold cup was run. Overhearing jockey mention San- toi, Gates went to the races and shocked English bookies by dump- ing wagers in bales on the horse. Santoi won and Gates was richer by many thousands-pounds, not dollars.
 $l.OO0 ON A RAINDRoP
 Sitting in a hotel room with friends on rainy day, Gates amused himself by betting $l,000 at clip on which raindrop would slither to the bottom of the win- dow first.
 Gambling with Gates was not a vice. It was an outlet-quicker, more compact and dramatic than the slow-moving, responsible opera tons of big-business finance. He rejoiced vaingloriously when he won, no matter how small the amount or at what. He was a non- chalant loser who played poker and bridge as avidly for pennies as for stakes running into tens of thou sands.
 Despite manifold business activi- ties, Gates found time to indulge in more than one sport. He liked to golf, was crack clay and live pigeon shot,
 A hearty, jovial man with a keen eye and full mustache. he told a good story. Well tailored, he exuded prosperity. He possessed an uncan- ny insight into human nature, re- duced everything to mathematical relations.
 Gates abhorred the nickname, Betcha Million. He and John A. Drake, another plunger, were in a friendly argument in the old Wal dorf Astoria bar.
 "Betcha million you're wrong" challenged Gates. Drake was about to accept the challenge when a friend tipped him by a wink that he was in error So the biggest single wager between two men never materialized. But Gates gained a soubriquet that was des- tined to follow him to the grave and finger ever after.
 John W. Gates was born on an Illinois farm in 1855 of well-to-do but not wealthy American pioneer stock.
 At 2l Gates married Dellora Baker, belle of St. Charles, Ill, whose father lent his son-in-law $l750. This was all Gates ever | AAad III OAAS way O4 lAtldllCldl Ilclp At 50 he was worth $l00, ,000, ,0o0. His fortune founded on barbed wire he became a tycoon in steel, rail- roads and oil.
 SMOKED OVERSIZED CIGARS
 Gates, though honest, loved to circumvent. Tn his later years, when afflicted by illness. his doc tor ordered him to limit himself to smoking three cigars a day, where upon the multi-millionaire put in supply of Havanas, each the size of young baseball bat. It was an all-day task to smoke three of these holsters. and Gates chuckled over his cunning in obeying the letter of the medico's orders without denial to himself.
 Plunger to the end, John w. Gates staged his life against the physi- clans diagnosis, and for once out foXed himself. The doctor was right. Gates died in 1911 at 56.
 T guess you win. Doc" he said,
 Betcha Million Gates paid of the greatest wager of his meteoric and spectacular career with character | iStic nonchalance.