Frontier Gambling PDF Download

Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: G.R. Williamson
ISBN: 0985278013
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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E-Pub edition

Author: Pauliina Raento
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
ISBN: 0874178673
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The eight essays in Gambling, Space, and Time use a global and interdisciplinary approach to examine two significant areas of gambling studies that have not been widely explored--the ever-changing boundaries that divide and organize gambling spaces, and the cultures, perceptions, and emotions related to gambling. The contributors represent a variety of disciplines: history, geography, sociology, anthropology, political science, and law. The essays consider such topics as the impact of technological advances on gambling activities, the role of the nation-state in the gambling industry, and the ways that cultural and moral values influence the availability of gambling and the behavior of gamblers. The case studies offer rich new insights into a gambling industry that is both a global phenomenon and a powerful engine of local change.

Author: Paul Pasquaretta
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816551278
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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The cards are turned, the chips are raked. In casinos all over the country, Native Americans are making money and reclaiming power. But the games are by no means confined to the tables, as the Mashantucket Pequots can attest. Although Anglo-Americans have attempted to undermine Pequot sovereignty for centuries, these Native Americans have developed a strategy of survival in order to maintain their sense of peoplehood—a resiliency that has vexed outsiders, from English settlers to Donald Trump. The Pequots have found success at their southeastern Connecticut casino in spite of the odds. But in considering their story, Paul Pasquaretta shifts the focus from casinos to the political struggles that have marked the long history of indigenous-colonial relations. Viewing the survival of Native communities in the face of genocide and forced assimilation as a high-stakes game of chance, he examines gambling metaphors in historical and literary contexts to reveal strategies employed by several tribes as they participate in various "games" with white society--whether land re-acquisition, political positioning, or resistance to outside dominance. Through a comparative analysis of texts spanning four centuries—colonial war narratives, nineteenth-century romance fiction, tribal memorials, Native American novels—Pasquaretta provides a framework for understanding Indian-white relations and the role of "chance" in the realm of colonialism. He explores two intertwining themes: the survival of indigenous peoples in the face of the European invasion of North America and the ongoing contest of Natives and newcomers that has transpired in the marketplace, on the battlefield, and in the courts. In so doing, he considers the impact of reservation gambling on the development of contemporary tribal communities and the role of traditional Indian gambling practices and stories in the survival of indigenous cultural traditions. Gambling and Survival in Native North America is a wide-ranging book that shows how Native Americans have become active participants in their own survival despite the popular belief that Indian tribes, as "conquered peoples," have been rendered helpless for over a century. Working within a system devised to confine and even destroy them, they have found ways to remain in the game—and, against all odds, have learned to play it well.

Author: Aaron M. Duncan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317512472
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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This book explores the rise and increased acceptance of gambling in America, particularly the growth of the game of poker, as a means for examining changes to the American Dream and the risk society. Poker both critiques and reinterprets the myth of the American Dream, putting greater emphasis on the importance of luck and risk management while deemphasizing the importance of honesty and hard work. Duncan discusses the history of gambling in America, changes to the rhetoric surrounding gambling, the depiction of poker in the Wild West as portrayed in film, its recent rise in popularity on television, its current place in post-modern America on the internet, and future implications.

Author: G. R. Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 83

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Gambling played a major role in the lives of the men that drove the western movement of Americans across the continent during the nineteenth century. Games of chance were dear to the hearts of not only cowboys but also gold miners, plantation owners, bankers, merchants, soldiers, trappers, buffalo hunters, muleskinners, and most of the other men of the American West, even including some preachers. Wherever there were men with money there was gambling – and most of it was crooked. Whether it was rigged, fixed, double-dealt, cold-decked, braced or otherwise manipulated - very little was left to luck and skill. Though there were some gamblers who were known as "on-the-square" or "legitimate", if that word can be used when referring to the players of the day, most used some form of "advantage" to win much more often than they lost. Some were not gamblers at all but mere con men skinning suckers as fast as they could find them. With this in mind, exactly what were the casino games of chance played during the wild days of the West, what were the rules, and how were they played? Who were the major players and where did they ply their trade? How did they employ "tricks" to cheat the other players without being detected? Why did most of the games of the western frontier pass into oblivion and why are these same games not played in gambling casinos today? Though most of us think we have a fairly good running knowledge of Old West gambling, largely provided by the westerns of television and movies, this book takes a closer look at this integral facet of our history that provokes both condemnation and revelry. Whether it was a game of poker played on a blanket or a faro bet placed in an elegant saloon, it is a safe bet to say that gambling fulfilled one of the basic needs of the early frontiersman – liquor, lust, and luck. Most settlements started with a small clump of buildings (quite often little more than tents) that usually included a general mercantile store, a livery stable or wagon yard, and a saloon. Then as the settlement grew, a few more business sprung up and more often than not additional saloons crowded in to provide the major form of entertainment available to the men of that era – games of chance. Unlike today with the plethora of entertainment choices provided by television, movies, computers and other technological devices, the frontiersman had very few choices as a diversion from his everyday toils. Most often, he was reduced to reading a book, chatting with friends, or playing a game. Books were often hard to come by and any game worth playing was worth wagering. As western saloons evolved, a typical layout usually followed along these lines: an entrance foyer, the bar area with maybe a few card tables and billiards tables in the back. Traditionally, saloons were housed in a building that was longer than it was wide, with an overhanging awning covering the front entrance. Contrary to most of our movie images of saloons, they quite often did not have bat-wing doors; instead, one or more standard wooden doors with glass panels provided access from the street. Once inside the door, customers usually saw a long bar running down the right wall. The bar was usually a massive work of oak with a brass rail that provided a foot prop while standing for a drink. Here and there, a few spittoons enabled tobacco chewers to deposit their chaws before downing a shot of redeye. To the left were a few card tables and chairs strictly meant for gambling – all drinking was done standing up. When you could not manage the upright position any longer, you were told that you had had enough and go sleep it off. Over time, a class distinction developed among saloons in which there were "low dives" and "first class saloons" Gamblers were interested in the upscale saloons while conmen and sharps operated in the "skin houses" where drunks were sometimes allowed to sleep on the floor after having their pockets cleaned out. Usually the mark of a better saloon was the addition of gambling rooms to the rear or a gambling hall located in a second story above the saloon. This accommodated the serious gamblers where large amounts of cash exchanged hands over the green cloth tables. As it evolved, saloon owners offered someone, usually a noted gambler, the gambling concession - with the saloon getting a percentage of the take. The better the location, the more well-heeled the customers, and the professional expertise of an efficient gambling operation could mean sizeable profits for the owner. Besides location, reputation was everything in the saloon business. From the Mississippi River to the Barbary Coast of California one saloon tried to top the others with what they offered and who gambled there. Big name gamblers drew a crowd and this translated into bigger profits from liquor sales and gambling. Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Luke Short, Ben Thompson, Swiftwater Bill Gates, Dick Clark, Rowdy Joe Lowe, and the rest of the old west's gambling superstars ran the gaming operations in most of the better saloons of the era. This book is the first volume of the Hip-Pocket History of the Old West (Series) providing a compact, concise accounts that cover odd or little-known facets of the American West. Historically accurate, but told in an easy to read format, with just a twist of humor. Informative, yet entertaining, the Hip-Pocket History series provides little nuggets without having to wade through a 400-page book of dry academic ostentatiousness.

Author: William G. McCown
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470128151
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Full of practical information on assessing, diagnosing, and treating alcohol gambling addiction, this handy manual in the new Wiley Series on Treating Addictions is an invaluable tool for anyone who works with clients experiencing problems with gambling.

Author: Stanford Wong
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101222212
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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You're no idiot, of course. You know that a full house beats a pair of kings and 21 is the magic number in blackjack. But when you enter a casino, you feel like a vacuum hose is going to suck money right out of your wallet. Don't cash in your chips just yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Gambling Like a Pro, Second Edition explains all the games and strategies, so you have a better chance at beating the odds.

Author: John Patrick
Publisher: Lyle Stuart
ISBN: 9780818406263
Category : Internet gambling
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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The Internet is the new gambling frontier, the Wild West of the new millennium, and new games and new sites appear daily. Even if one doesn't seek out the many Web sites devoted to all forms of gambling -- traditional and new -- they find you, popping-up in windows and running as banners on other Web sites. How to make sense and money from the chaos? Master gambler John Patrick explains, telling readers which games to play and how to win. He shows readers how to recognize the cute gimmicks, the outright scams, and the legitimate games. Then he shares his time-tested techniques for winning, using traditional gambling skills as well as new ones called for in the cyber-casino.

Author: G R Williamson
Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Most of the gamblers of the Old West got their start and reputations by working the circuit of the Mississippi River boats, the railhead cattle towns of Kansas, or the boomtowns that popped up around gold or silver mining. The gunfighter Ben Thompson got his start by running the Bull's Head Saloon with partner Phil Coe in Ellsworth, Kansas. Ben's friend, Bat Masterson, also started his career in the cattle towns of Texas and Kansas. In general, these legendary gamblers were known as "legitimate" or that they played a fair game without cheating. Truth be told, all of them knew the methods employed by the "sharps" to clean the pockets of the other players at the table. They had to know these "tricks" in order to spot a cheater at their table. Did they ever use any of these advantages to increase their odds? Probably so, but the public's perception of these men was that they ran a "square game". Hip-Pocket History of the Old West (Series) This compact book that gives concise accounts of odd or little-known facets of the American West. Historically accurate, but told in an easy-to-read format, with just a twist of humor. Informative, yet entertaining, the Hip-Pocket History series provides little nuggets without having to wade through a 400-page book of dry academic ostentatiousness.

Author: Mark R. Johnson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501347276
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Casino games and traditional card games have rich and idiosyncratic histories, complex subcultures and player practices, and facilitate the flow of billions of dollars each year through casinos and card rooms, and between professional players and amateurs. They have nevertheless been overlooked by game scholars due to the negative ethical weight of “gambling” – with such games pathologized and labelled as deviance or mental illness, few look beyond to unpick the games, their players, and their communities. The Casino, Card and Betting Game Reader offers 25 chapters studying the communities playing these games, the distinctive cultures and practices that have emerged around them, their activities and beliefs and interpersonal relationships, and how these games influence – both positively and negatively – the lives and careers of millions of game players around the world. It is the first of a new series of edited collections, Play Beyond the Computer, dedicated to exploring the play of games beyond computers and games consoles.