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Collection: Books and Periodicals
Three Years in California by John D. Borthwick (1857)(LoC) (423 pages)
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Page: of 423
62 THE GAMBLERS.
as with us. An individual might spend all his time,
and gain his living, in betting at public gamingtables, but that would not entitle him to the distinctive appellation of a gambler; it would only be said
of him, that he gambled.
The gamblers were only the professionals, the men
who laid out their banks in public rooms, and invited all and sundry to bet against them. They were
a distinct and numerous class of the community, who
followed their profession for the accommodation of
the public ; and any one who did business with them
was no more a “gambler” than a man who bought
a pound of tea was a grocer.
At this time the gamblers were, as a general
thing, the best-dressed men in San Francisco. Many
of them were very gentlemanly in appearance, but
there was a peculiar air about them which denoted
their profession—so much so, that one might frequently hear the remark, that such a person “ looked
like a gambler.” They had a haggard, careworn look
(though that was nothing uncommon in California),
and as they sat dealing at their tables, no fluctuation
of fortune caused the slightest change in the expression of their face, which was that of being intently
occupied with their game, but at the same time totally
indifferent as to the result. Even among the betters
the same thing was remarkable, though in a less degree, for the struggle to appear unconcerned when
a man lost his all, was often too plainly evident.
The Mexicans showed the most admirable impas.
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