Shady Bill

The California Gold Rush of 1849 attracted hordes eager to seek their fortune. They came with all the money they could raise to pursue their dreams of striking it rich. Right behind them, came the merchants, the outfitters, and the suppliers of equipment.
Then, came the gold, out of the streams, out of the ground. The gold camps became settlements. Then, the predators came, providing entertainment, which consisted of women, liquor, and gambling.
Gambling ran rampant with faro, roulette, and pin wheel games, and with draw poker and various card games designed to part the prospector from his gold. The settlements were lawless, and attempts at self-rule often ended in mob-rule.
The wildness of the Gold Rush didn’t last long. A year later, in 1850, California achieved statehood, and the legislature wrote laws into the State Constitution making gambling illegal.
Games of chance that gave the house an edge were declared illegal along with the spinning wheels and other gambling devices. A card game called, “Horse Stud Poker” was ruled illegal but was not described beyond its name, causing confusion and effectively putting a stop to all stud poker games.
Five-card draw poker, America’s favorite card game, was a different story. Everyone knew how to play it, even lawyers, politicians, judges, and legislators. Most of that class believed that draw poker was a game of skill, and not a game of chance. The California lawmakers agreed. They made an exception and amended the law to allow local cities and counties to regulate five-card draw poker.
The Roaring Twenties made the game famous, and World War II created a heyday for poker. By the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s, California had dozens of poker casinos and poker clubs, not to mention hundreds of poker rooms in bars from one end of California to the other. Back in those days, the two games played for money were both five-card draw poker, one was high hand wins, the other was low hand wins (lo-ball).
Back in the 1960’s and 70’s, Shady Bill was a big money, lo-ball hustler, a winning player in his hustling prime, but never far from the destitution of the streets. He was upright, presentable, dressed thrift-store style, and he always wore sun glasses. Playing the poker clubs of Northern California, he awaited the big score. It seemed always within reach, but never in his grasp, or was it?
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