Beware of the Riverboat Gamblers

River boat gamblers come in all shapes, sizes, descriptions and geographic locations. They don't even have to be on a river boat. They just need to have a river boat mentality, the heart of a thief and a criminal frame of mind.

If you visit enough casinos or card rooms, you are bound to run into them sooner or later. Whatever the circumstances of your meeting, you can count on one thing: It will be an event you will never forget.

Years ago I picked up a wonderful little book in an obscure used book shop in Hollywood, CA. It was an award-winning non-fiction book called 'The True Memoirs of Charlie Blankenship,' and it had won the Spur award for one of the best Western non-fiction books of the year.

One of Blankenship's relatives had discovered the old manuscript tucked away in his grandmother's attic. He read it and was fascinated by the account Charlie, a young cowboy, had written.

It seems Charlie grew up on a farm in the Midwest. His brother was in his teens when he ran away from home to become a cowboy. When Blankenship turned 17, he decided to do the same thing. He borrowed a horse from his father's small farm, rode it as far as he could, then slapped the animal on the rump and sent it back home so nobody could accuse him of being a horse thief.

That was when Charlie Blankenship's adventures began.

He supported himself at a variety of jobs, including working as a cowboy on a ranch as he worked his way west. He helped a bone collector (bones of dead cattle and buffalo were used for a variety of reasons, including making soap, butter and other items) and could be quite valuable to the collector.

Charlie found a decent job as a wrangler on a Texas ranch. After a month of hard work, he was paid and accompanied a band of young cowboys to town. There he found saloons, dance hall girls and gambling casinos that employed the technique known as the 'Velvet Blackjack' to relieve a young man of his money.

What was a Velvet Blackjack? Why, it was a weapon that when you were hit, you didn't even feel it. You just gave up your money gladly and was almost glad when you did.

In Charlie's case, he met a pretty dance hall girl in a combination saloon and casino. Like the other cowboys, Charlie gambled. He drank liquor. And the saloon girl with the help of the river boat gamblers relieved him of his cash so adeptly he didn't even realize he had been robbed.

That happened to me one day at Gulfstream Race Track in Miami, FL. A slick race track tout followed me up to the cashier's window after I had collected a sizable win on a long shot. He waited until I had put my money away, then called me aside.

'I've been watching you, Son,' he said in a perfect Southern drawl. 'You're a good handicapper and you're smart. You know what you're doing.'

'Why, thank you, Sir,' I stammered, flustered by his compliments.

'Don't mention it, Son. There's gamblers and then there's folks like you that know what they're doing. I'm a trainer and I have a horse running in the next race. It's a long shot. Racing form doesn't show anything. But the horse is a dead sure-shot winner. I'm going to give him to you just 'cause I like the way you play.'

Well, that sure sounded pretty good to me. He warned me that he had people -- he called them 'rivals' -- who were watching his play and he didn't want to give the horse away to them because they were big plungers.

'If they knew about my horse, they'd drop so much money on him that it'd change the odds,' he whispered, his eyes darting around furtively. 'Here's what I'll do. The race is going off in four minutes. Give me the money you want to bet on him, I'll make the wager when I buy my own tickets, and I'll give you the tickets just before the race starts. How's that for a deal.'

I was over $600 ahead and thought that sounded just fine. I slipped him a $100 bill.

He almost sneered. 'That's all you're gonna bet on a sure thing? Okay, if that's what you want.'

I gave him another century note. He smiled, winked and went to the seller's window. I stood back and waited until he completed the transaction. When he was finished, he walked past me and stuffed some tickets into my hand. Then he vanished into the crowd.

I ambled over to the starting gate and watched as the horses lined up for the race. Then I reached into my pocket where I had placed the tickets.

They were all old tickets from a previous rates.

I screamed. Shouted profanities. And searched for my benefactor. He was nowhere to be found, of course. I went to a security guard and told him what had happened. He listened to my story and nodded. When I was finished, he said, 'I'll keep an eye out for him, but he's probably long gone. Happens out here all the time. I'm sorry, kid, but you have been taken.'

River boat gamblers -- the crooked ones -- often use flattery to set up their victims. While I was playing in a poker tournament at Sam's Town in Tunica, MS., I heard a sad story about a young Texas school teacher who had won over $60,000 in a World Poker Open tournament. He was thrilled because the money would help him and his wife buy a house they had been looking at but couldn't afford.

As he prepared to leave the casino for the parking lot, two riverboat gamblers from New Orleans pulled him aside. They complimented him on his play and one bought him a drink. Then they said they were starting up a small game of pot-limit Omaha High.

'We'd sure be honored if you'd join us,' said one of the riverboaters, sipping his bourbon. 'Maybe you could give us a few pointers on how to play the game.'

Two drinks later, he agreed to play in the game, which had a minim $500 buy-in. Five hundred dollars don't go very far in pot-limit Omaha. Especially when the drinks are on the house. They started playing around 10 p.m. and by 3 a.m., the school teacher was stone cold broke. According to the casino security guard I spoke to at Sam's Town in Tunica, the teacher was crying like a baby when he staggered to the ATM machine to get enough cash out of his account to buy gas to get him back to Texas.

River boat gamblers are some of the most outrageous sharpsters you can find. They started in the Mississippi riverboats in the 1800s and have been around ever since. In those early days, these black-hearted scoundrels could pick whatever boat they wanted, whether it was in New Orleans, Visksburg, Biloxi, St. Louis or elsewhere.

After all, the steamers with the huge paddle-wheels were floating palaces, full of professional people whose pockets were bulging with cash. Rich planters land speculators, physicians, college professors, farmers and ranchers. A drink, some smooth talk, a cigar and they were ready to play, totally unaware that they were about to be fleeced like a sheep.

In closing, if you are in a casino or at a race track and you have won a considerable amount of cash, watch out when somebody comes up to you with a smile and a compliment -- especially if they make an offer to you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter. If you have a unique gambling story to share with him, you may qualify for a cash award. Send your story with all the details to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).