In 1900, in the Oklahoma State Capital newspaper of January 30 was an article on Rose Francis Blumpkin, Girl Gambler. The 18-year old woman in Dawson, Yukon Territory of Alaska, was playing the tables winning like a man and acting thus unwomanly.
Some associate her vaudevillian life with prostitution, others say she was just a drink and dance girl at a house in Dawson (or elsewhere) when she was between theater shows. What this article explains is she was daring, cagey and polished player.
"The other day she lost $3000 at...risky game called "craps." That same night she "beat the house" by no less than a sum of $5000."
This, the opinionated writer stressed, just could not be because, "When a man gambles he becomes as coldly metallic in his nervous system as the coin he covets. His nerves, in face, are nerves of steel.
When a woman gambles she becomes hysterically excitable in her nervous system. The eventual result is one of two things: she either commits suicide or is herself committed to a madhouse."
Apparently, the writer never hear of Poker Alice, Elenore Dumont, or Kitty LaRoy....
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