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In the days of the frontier west, poker was king with the mustachioed likes of Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, 'Canada' Bill Jones, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and hundreds of others. 'Wild Bill' Hickock was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his work across the frontier as a drover, wagon master, soldier, spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. Also, considered most skilled gunfighter of his time. ISBN 1-55709-110-2. This book is a series of vignettes by Mr. Devol recounting various adventures he had as a Mississippi riverboat gambler. Gamblers of the Old West, from the Editors of Time-Life Books. ISBN 0-7835-4903-2. This is a terrific book with many fine illustrations the aid in the understanding of gambling in the 19th century.
The circle of cut-throat varmints sat around dusty poker tables is one of the most enduring images from the American Old West; but who were the meanest and most infamous of them all?
The heyday of cowboy gambling lasted from 1850 until 1910, during which time gambling halls would often be the first building constructed whenever a new camp or settlement was started. Many frontier gamblers have gone down in history for their daring exploits. These rough ‘n' tough saloon sharks came from various walks of life, included both men and women, and typically erred on the wrong side of the law.
Below are 10 of the fiercest frontier gamblers who ever lived:
10) Alice Ivers (AKA Poker Alice)
Perhaps the most infamous female frontier shark, ‘Poker Alice' hailed from Devon, England but quickly gained renown after settling in Virginia.
Rarely seen without a chunky cigar and a fat stack of ill-gotten cash, Ivers became the bane of pit bosses everywhere when she broke the bank at a casino in Colorado. Definitely one of the hottest female poker players out there – ‘hot' in terms of her fame!
9) Bat Masterson
This pro-gambler and gunfighter was a bit of an all-round renaissance man. He used his winnings to fund multiple passions, including travelling and promoting prize fights.
Later, Masterson procured enough moolah to set up his own Olympic Athletic Club, through which he promoted up-and-coming boxers (and organised pools on matches).
8) John Henry Holiday (AKA Doc Holiday)
This notorious outlaw is perhaps best known for his part in the O.K. Corall gunfight (which he survived). A tuberculosis sufferer, Holiday knew his days were numbered and was therefore utterly without fear, a fact reflected in his gambling habits.
He was taught to gamble from a young age by a black, female friend of the family and became a card player with a count as deadly as his aim.
7) Eleanor Dumont (AKA Madame Moustache)
Miss Dumont was French by birth, arriving in Nevada in the 1850s. A skilled blackjack dealer and card counter, she opened her own gambling den shortly after hitting the States and mostly catered to miners.
Wild West Gambler Outfit
Despite her nickname, Dumont was highly respected by her ultra-macho clientele, who would come to blows over the honour of sitting at her table.
6) Jefferson Randolph Smith II (AKA Soapy Smith)
Jefferson ‘Soapy' Smith was a slippery customer, in more ways than one. Aside from making a killing at standard casino table games, Smith also ran a scam that earned him his nickname.
He would show a crowd between $1 and $100, wrap the cash up in a bar of soap, place it amongst normal soap bars and invite the crowd to auction for the bar they thought contained the cash. Accomplices in the crowd would always pick the correct soap bar, while Smith pocketed the profits.
5) Kitty LeRoy
This young Texan belle settled in Deadwood, South Dakota – a legendary Dakotan scum hole. Soon after arriving, she used her copious gambling winnings to set up the Mint Gambling Saloon along with Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok.
It was said that LeRoy was always armed, owning over a dozen guns and knives, which she wasn't shy of brandishing in a pinch.
4) Wyatt Earp
One of the most legendary figures from the American West, Wyatt Earp was actually listed as a professional gambler in the 1887 San Diego City Directory.
Like Doc Holiday, he feared nothing and brought an aggressive playing style to the poker tables. His success eventually allowed him to purchase a six-horse stable in San Francisco and settle down until his death in 1929 at the age of 80.
3) Lottie Deno
Although lesser-known than Poker Alice, Lottie Deno was arguably the more prolific and successful gambler of the two. She had the distinction of fleecing Doc Holiday at poker on one occasion, earning the title ‘Poker Queen.'
She eventually retired in comfort; her fortune made, and lived to the extremely respectable age of 89.
2) James Butler Hickok (AKA Wild Bill Hickok)
A killer on and off the tables, James ‘Wild Bill' Hickok certainly lived up to his moniker. He was involved in a number of shootouts, killing several men in the process, and spied for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Wild West Gambler
However, he died with cards in his hand, taking a bullet to the back after busting out a competitor. His last hand (said to be two pair, black aces and eights with an unknown hole card) was thereafter known as the ‘dead man's hand.'
1) Dona Maria Getrudes Barcelo
Dona Barcelo's fame stemmed from misfortune. After her husband left her, she was left destitute and turned to gambling to support herself and her children.
Fortunately, this Southern beauty turned out to have a knack for cards and became a favourite of Mexican locals in Santa Fe, who dubbed her as ‘la Tules' (Spanish for ‘thin' or ‘reed'). Barcelo eventually became the richest woman in the city as well as the most famous female gambler of her time.
Originally published on 30/04/14. Updated 22/06/17.
Called one of the greatest gunfighters in Texas, Phillip 'Phil' Coe was also a soldier, a gambler, a businessman, and called the famous Ben Thompson, gunman, and gambler, one of his best friends.
Born Phillip Houston Coe in July 1839 in Gonzales, Texas, to Elizabeth Parker Coe and Phillip Haddox Coe, Phil would grow up to be called one of Texas' greatest gunfighters.
In September 1861, he joined the Confederate forces in Houston, Texas to fight in the Civil War and was quickly made a 3rd Lieutenant. However, just a few months later, in December, he was mustered out due to illness.
In March 1862, he re-joined the Confederate forces, enlisting in the 36th Texas Cavalry, fighting for over a year, when he left the force in April 1863.
Ben Thompson
After the war over, it is thought that he served with Ben Thompson under Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. Under famous gunfighter and gambler Ben Thompson, Coe would hone his shooting and gambling skills.
By late 1869 he was in Brenham, where his sister, Delilah, and her family lived. There, he met and gambled with such notorious individuals as James Madison Brown, John Wesley Hardin, and William P. Longley. Next, he went to Salina, Kansas, in 1870, but by May 1871, he had moved on to the wild Kansas cowtown of Abilene. Also, there were Ben Thompson and Bill Hickok, who was serving as city marshal.
Coe and Thompson soon went into a partnership operating the Bull's Head Saloon, one of the wildest places in the already wild cowtown. This, of course, created dissension between Thompson and Coe with City Marshal, Bill Hickok. Though there were several disagreements, tension rose again when Thompson and Coe hanged an oversize painting of a Texas Longhorn, complete in its 'full masculinity' at the Bull's Head Saloon. Most Abilene townspeople were offended by the sign and demanded the animal's anatomy be altered. As a result, Hickok stood by with a shotgun as the necessary deletions were made to the painting. No doubt, the tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife, and the alteration was made without serious incident.
Though Coe and Hickok continued to have several disagreements, and it was well known the two disliked each other, Thompson and Hickok never had problems, seemingly having mutual respect for each other's reputations.
Later, Thompson left town, and Coe sold his interest in the saloon, although he remained a gambler. When Hickok and Coe began to court the same woman, rumors circulated that each planned to kill the other. At one point, Coe and Hickok passed words during a disagreement, during which Coe bragged of his expertise in shooting, with Coe reportedly stating he could 'kill a crow on the wing,' to which Hickok replied: 'Did the crow have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be.'
Hickok-Coe Gunfight
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Eventually, the tension between Phil Coe and Wild Bill Hickok would culminate in the ultimate gunfight. On the night of October 5, 1871, the trouble came to a head.
It was the end of the cattle season, and Coe, along with several Texas cowboys, were celebrating by drinking and carousing in Abilene's numerous saloons. As the cowboys neared the Alamo Saloon, a vicious dog tried to bite Coe, and the gunman took a shot at him. Though he missed the dog, Hickok appeared just minutes later to investigate the gunfire.
The marshal demanded that Coe surrender his firearms, as an ordinance prohibited carrying them in the city. But instead of giving over his weapons, Coe sent a bullet Hickok's way, to which the marshal returned fire, shooting Coe twice in the stomach. At about the same time, Hickok heard footsteps coming up behind him and turning swiftly; he fired again and killed Deputy Mike Williams, who had been coming to his aid.
Coe lingered in agony for days and finally died on October 9th. His body was transported back to Brenham and buried in Prairie Lea Cemetery.
Wild West Gambler Costumes For Him
In the meantime, Hickok drove the rest of the cowboys out of town. But the city of Abilene had had enough. Before long, the city fathers told the Texans there could be no more cattle drives through their town and dismissed Hickok as city marshal.
Though some thought that Ben Thompson would retaliate against Hickok for the shooting, he did not, and by some estimations, seemed to believe the shooting was justified.
© Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated January 2021.
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