Famous People
(Early 1900's)

 Bat Masterson

In the American Wild West of the 1800's legendary William (Bat) Masterson loved playing high stakes poker. He ran casinos, and for a while doubled as a lawman in the southwest territories. At different times he worked as a buffalo hunter, army scout, and theater owner. In the late 1890's, after losing most of his money on a boxing match favoring Jim Corbett (who was KO'd by Bob Fitzsimmons) he took a job as Sports Editor for the Morning Telegraph in New York City. He died at the age of 67, in 1921.

  

Doc Holliday

Although John Henry Holliday was a dentist, his career of note was as a skilled poker player, known for a quick temper, and a quicker trigger. His story is one of poker, gunfights, dead opponents, and quick changes of venue throughout the old west. Lawman Wyatt Earp was a good friend. One Holliday story pegs his shooting of Bud Philpot in Tombstone, AZ as the incident that precipitated the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in which he participated. At 35 Holliday died of tuberculosis.

 

John Wesley Hardin

As a 15 year old Southerner shortly after the civil war, Wesley Hardin had killed several Union soldiers trying to arrest him, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He served 16 years during which he earned a law degree and was subsequently pardoned. In those days there wasn't much money in the law business, but the booze, women and cards had a strong appeal to Hardin, who eventually moved his office to the saloons of El Paso where he made name for himself for his playing and shooting skills. His reputation developed as a card player who wouldn't hesitate to finish an argument with his .44 who might just scoop up the stakes and hightail it, too. He died after being shot from behind at the age of 42.

  

Madam Mustache

In the 1850's Elanora Dumont was a sexy young dealer who attracted love_starved players that gladly lost their gold to this expert player. As she grew in popularity so did her earning. Eventually she owned her own casino, "Dumont Palace" which also prospered, because she enjoyed a reputation for fairness and free food. The mustache appeared suddenly well after she'd made her money. Following a busted romance and a worse marriage which left her broke and alone, she poisoned herself 1879.

   

 

Wild Bill Hickok

At 6'3" with his long, curled golden hair and meticulous clothing, Wild Bill Hickok was a bit of a dandy. That was fine with his acceptable since he also carried a well used gun. Hickok was an Indian fighter, army scout and finally a frontier marshall, in Abilene, Kansas. Killed by a shot in the back while playing poker August 2, 1876, his poker hand of the two black aces and two black 8s; known as "the Deadman's Hand."

 

Poker Alice

Cigar chomping Alice Ivers Duffield Tubbs Huckert outlived each of her husbands and out earned them too. She lived to the ripe old age of 79, had an excellent memory and was thought to be an math genius, excelling at faro, blackjack and poker. Like many successful gamblers in the old west she was also very handy with a gun Alice operated in the mining towns of Creede and Tombstone in the late 1800's. She died in 1930 during a gall bladder operation.