Chapter 6

Now that they had a specific goal in mind, they played poker like people possessed by a demon. They never cheated, but they never had to cheat. By the time they reached Texas, they had almost $15,000 in the strong box. Jim figured that they would be ready to start their gambling palace as soon as they had $20,000.

Now that they were near their goal, they debated over the best place to locate their establishment. They weren't in Texas long before they decided that Texas was the place to be. Texans gambled like that was all they wanted to do, and the money flowed like water over the poker table. Not only did they like poker, but they went for faro and roulette and any other way they could find to wager. The place was crazy, but Sandy and Jim loved it!

They spent a week in Amarillo and earned the rest of the money they needed. Amarillo was a nice place, but they wanted to see some more of the state before they settled down. They spent nearly 6 months making their way around the state. They looked at Lubbock, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, before settling on Laredo as the place for their gambling palace. By now, they had over $35,000, so they were set for getting started. Laredo was the smallest of the cities they looked at, but something about the place struck their fancy.

They found a saloon that was for sale and was shaped inside like what they wanted. It had a cavernous room, much larger than the usual saloon, and several private rooms leading off from it. Furthermore, it had complete second and third storeys which could be converted into gambling rooms or living quarters. The price was right, so they grabbed it. The first change Jim made was to put up a new sign saying "Sandy's Gambling Palace." In smaller letters, but still easy to read: "The best woman poker player in the world!" They ordered furniture and gambling equipment from New Orleans. An innovation that Jim came up with required that they order many crates of card decks, since he wanted any player at any time to be able to order up a new deck by paying the dealer $1. The decks of cards cost only 4 cents, so it should prove to be a profitable sideline.

They were closed for about 2 months while they were getting set up, but the sign out front caught the eye and imagination of most of the gamblers in the neighborhood. When they finally opened for business, they were mobbed by people who wanted to see this woman who was supposed to be so good at poker, since poker was popularly considered to be a man's game. Sandy sat in regal splendor at a poker table and played poker while the mob milled around looking at her. She was dressed in the height of fashion for a woman of high status, and she obviously was a LADY. She was offered drinks many times from the bar, but she always politely declined. Two bodyguards stood at her shoulders and kept rowdy people away; therefore, she was not bothered by impolite offers or demands for sex.

The gambling room was furnished with many lights, more that were common for the everyday saloon. The bar was a one end of the room, conveniently near the main doorway. The faro tables and the roulette wheel were near the bar, and the poker and black jack tables were at the opposite end of the room. This did not mean that anybody would ever be thirsty because he was too far from the bar, because there were many waiters who circulated through the room taking orders.

Jim had guards strategically scattered about the room, sitting in high chairs, and armed with shotguns. These guards were rotated every hour so that they would not become jaded or bored. The shotguns were loaded with light bird shot, since they did not want to kill any paying customers, but they also were armed with pistols, so they could kill if they had to.

The faro tables were busy with players who just did not have the patience for poker. Faro was a game heavily loaded in favor of the house, and everybody knew it. Nevertheless, a lot of men went for faro because the payoff was high if you could manage to win, and there was a constant flow of action. There never were the dead spots that poker had while a player was trying to decide what to do.

Roulette was roulette; every player was sure that he had a "system" that would make him a winner, but, of course, nobody did. Roulette was not biased as heavily in favor of the house as was faro, but you still had a hard time coming out ahead. Nevertheless, there were always people who were sure that they could beat the odds. They were the people who kept gambling houses in business.

Black jack had a few aficionados, but it was not nearly as popular as poker. Never let it be said that Jim missed out on an opportunity to make a buck off gambling. He offered two black jack tables, and they were certainly busy on that first night. However, Jim knew that the interest could easily taper off, so he did not commit to more space for the game.

For Sandy's Gambling Palace, poker was THE game. There were 6 tables devoted to poker; the one Sandy, herself, played at, and the 5 others for people waiting for a chair at her table. These tables had a lower ante than Sandy's, which was $10. This was high enough that a lot of men could stay in for only one or two hands, but they thought they had gotten their money's worth.

Drinks were not free, but the price was low enough that all of the players were well lubricated by the time they got to serious money decisions. Perhaps this was unfair, but Jim had to pay the "rent," and drinks were a big help. Anybody who had obviously lost all he could afford was gently and politely ushered out the door; most of the customers appreciated this service, even though some did argue rather vociferously.

The second night of operation was less crowded by non-players, but the serious gamblers were there, and the tables were all full. Jim actually had reason to wonder what they were going to do with all of the money they were making. He did order a larger safe for his office.

By the time they had been in business for a month, traffic had dropped off a little, but never at Sandy's poker table. She always did well enough to pay all expenses, so they were not really hurting from the slight drop in business.

Sandy still had her bodyguards, but she had a little extra insurance in the form of her faithful .44 caliber Remington. It was held in a special holster under her poker table where she could reach it on a moment's notice in case of trouble. In line with the common practice of the day, it was emptied and reloaded each day before she began play. The powder could cake up overnight, so the smart people always reloaded their guns the next morning. That was the best way to prevent a misfire. The gunsmith in Philadelphia had taught her that, and she faithfully followed the routine every day of her life. She never had a misfire, and that was good enough for her.