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Poker Alice Pictures
Infamous Deadwood: Poker Alice Tubbs. Deadwood was a rough and tumble gaming town not fit for a fine English lady. But that’s exactly where Ms. Alice Ivers found herself. Widowed and broke, this lady began playing poker to support herself. Nicknamed “Poker Alice,” she became a cigar-smoking, straight-faced, gambler who very rarely lost. Poker alice Perhaps the most infamous female frontier shark, Poker Alice Old West Photos Shady Lady Riot Grrrl American Frontier Civil War Photos Le Far West The Old Days History Photos Historical Pictures.
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with blue eyes and a pretty face, she was soon in demand as a dealer.A lady gambler was a rare sight in the mining camps she traveled in. At least one who wasn't prostituting on the side. She traveld and gambled all through Kansas, Arizona, New mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Soon she had acquired the nickname , 'Poker Alice' and was well known, with a big cigar stuck between her teeth and her trademark poker face. Religious, she never played or drank on Sunday. In fact, she was a drinker but wouldn't touch the stuff while playing her skillful gambling trade. She also carried a .38 revolver, and was known to threaten to shoot cheaters in the mug.
She was a big draw wherever she went and was welcome in gambling halls because of her drawing power.
She made her way to Silver City, New Mexico, where she broke the bank at the Gold Dust Gambling House, winning some $6,000. This brought her fame and notoriety throughout the west. Sometime later, she made a trip to New York City, which she often did after a large win, to replenish her wardrobe of fashionable clothing. She then went to work, dealing in Bob Ford's Saloon, in Creede Colorado. This was the Bob Ford that shot and killed Jesse James.
On to Deadwood, South Dakota, where she married Warren Tubbs. She often played against Tubbs at the gaming tables, and often cleaned him out. On one occasion when a drunken miner threatened Tubbs with a knife, Alice pulled out her .38 and put a bullet into the miner's arm.
The two built a ranch nearby and raised their seven children, and slowed down the gambling habit. Then misfortune struck and Tubbs took sick and died of Pneumonia in 1910.
Nearing 60, Poker Alice went back to what she was good at and opened up casino/brothel in Fort Meade South Dakota. She had a standing policy: No gambling or whoring on Sunday. One Sunday, a drunken soldier began to cause havoc in the saloon, destroying the furniture, and causing a ruckus. Alice responded by pulling her .38 and shooting the man. She was soon arrested and jailed, spending her time smoking cigars and reading the bible while awaiting her trial. She was acquitted on the grounds of self defense.
her casino was shut down, and in her 70s, with her beauty and smart dresses long gone, Alice played on through her winter years, continuing to gamble, but now dressing in men’s clothing.
She was featured at events like the Diamond Jubilee, in Omaha,
Alice Ivers
Nebraska, as a true frontier character, and regained some of her fame. She once said, 'At my age I suppose I should be knitting. But I would rather play poker with five or six 'experts' than eat.'She continued to run a brothel in Sturgis during her later years and was often arrested for drunkenness and keeping a disorderly house. Though she paid her fines, she continued to operate the business. Finally, she was arrested for
repeated convictions of running a brothel and sentenced to prison. However, Alice, who was 75 years old at the time, was pardoned by the governor.At age 79 she was sick with a bad gall bladder and the doctors told her she needed immediate surgery, to live. She returned to the tables instead and had the surgery afterward. She died of complications soon after, on Feb 27, 1930.
Poker Alice Photos
Alice claimed to have won more than $250,000 at the gaming tables and 'never once cheated'. In fact, one of her favorite sayings was: 'Praise the Lord and place your bets. I'll take your money with no regrets.'