Throughout the entire history of the Wild West, gambling was an integral component of the culture, communities, and individual lives that composed it. Gambling was much more important in the Wild West than it is portrayed in modern films, books, and television. Gambling is always seen going on in the background of movies and rarely discussed in much detail in books or articles. This lack or accurate description has led to many misconceptions regarding gambling in the Wild West, such as only men gambled or gambling was not influential in the cultures and communities in the Wild West. As settlements began to spread and develop in the 19th century American West, from areas including Army forts, river crossings, wagon trail crossings, mining …show more content…
Even thought most gamblers were the everyday average Joe, a subculture of hundreds professional gamblers and cheaters had formed. These professional gamblers displayed their skill and prosperity by wearing fancy suits and vests with flashy jewelry. The subculture of professional gamblers had a hierarchy based on fame, and many times the top of this hierarchy was occupied by famous lawmen and gunslingers in the Wild West, most notably Wyatt Earp, “Bat” Masterson, and Doc Holiday. Professional gamblers often paid membership fees to prestigious gambling halls up to thousands of dollars every month for conducting their gambling in a high stakes and safe manner. Gambling associations from France ran many facilities such as this. Another section of this gambling subculture is very rarely ever seen or written about; this section being women gamblers. Even though most western films, shows and books never talk about women gamblers, women did gamble, bet and even ran their own gambling dens in some cases. A couple notable figures were Eleanor Dumont, also known as Madame Mustache, and Alice Ives, or Poker Alice (DeArment, 1982). Dumont was famous for owning and operating several gambling halls. Ives gained her reputation from a long and successful gambling career that supported her after her husband’s