Poker History: George McGann: Gambler, Con Man, Kennedy Assassin??

[MiltonFriedman]

A LOT of people hated the Kennedys, the mob among them.

John Kennedy got elected President in part BECAUSE of the mob's influence. It seems pretty clear that Illinois was stolen on his behalf, swinging the election. There would have been a quid pro quo for such activity, but evidently Bobby reneged .... as he was known to do.

[Wetdog]

[ QUOTE ]
A LOT of people hated the Kennedys, the mob among them.

John Kennedy got elected President in part BECAUSE of the mob's influence. It seems pretty clear that Illinois was stolen on his behalf, swinging the election. There would have been a quid pro quo for such activity, but evidently Bobby reneged .... as he was known to do.

[/ QUOTE ]

Richard J. Daly, then the mayor (da mare) of Chicago, had the strongest political machine in the country. He was a major power broker back then and could get anyone elected anywhere if the price was right.

But then again, the Noble Lauriate in economics from the University of Chicago should know that. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Dominic]

i like the stories, but for the life of me I can't figure out what this means:

"I loaned George $150 once. He soaked two beautiful expensive sweaters. I wore them for a few years."

[sprfcta]

"Soaked" same-same "Pawned".

[Johnny Hughes]

Dominic is right as rain. People borrowed money at poker games on whatever collateral they had: hats, watches, rings, car titles, clothes, boots. One of Damon Runyon's famous stories, Little Miss Marker, was about a debt and a little girl. I'd loan this shorty forty on a star saphire ring with tiny diamonds on the sides. He'd pick it up and soak it again. Finally the ring was mine for a long time. I soaked it and a pocket pistol at Huber's Pawn Shop. They'd always laugh when I walked in the door. They sold marked cards and loaded dice and thought I was a sucker for going broke on the square.

I may use too many of the old Texas gambler sayings in these little stories. I don't know. My novel is packed with them, maybe that is not so hot.

In my earlier post on Cheating, Phil S. wrote the following about some of the Texas slang. Incidentally, that is the way I actually talk.

Here's Phil S.

Err, no.

Barking iron = gun right?
Define 'inside man' but by pockets nearly dry it means he is close to broke.
One eyed man means nothing to me? Id guess it means cheat, but i dunno.
Knocking off drippings i have no idea
Heel and toe means do a runner?
Blacktop time i guess means hit the road and drive away quick sharpish.

A lot of the sayings and phrases are easy enough to decipher, but a fair few seem pretty alien.

An inside man is a commercial gambler: a house man, a bookie, a dice man, a loan shark, a casino employee. An outside man is a poker player. He has no ties or backup. On the wire without a net. The purest form of freedom known to man. No bosses. No budgets. No schedules. And all you have to do is memorize Sklansky and Mamuth and have some wierd gift. The inside/outside man is discussed by Crandall Addington in Doyle's book.

Drippings would be where a guy is palming a card or holding out a card or has a card in his sleeve in a hold-out machine. If the edge of the card of a flash of color shows, that's called the drippings as in "I caught his drippings and pulled him up." If you suspect cheating, you clear your throat very loudly which means quit your wolfing.

Barking iron is, of course, guns. A one-eyed man in the game means there is cheating. Dry pockets means broke. I've been broke more times than the Ten Commandments.

You probably are so used to it, you don't think about it much but poker has it's own language. I find myself using these old Texas sayings to Nine to Fivers who look at me like I'm crazy. Do I use them too much?

[Wetdog]

Johnny, your colloquialisms add a ton of color to already colorful stories. Please do continue using them. It might be helpful to have an appendix of terms now and again though.

[MiltonFriedman]

First off, it's spelled "Daley".

Actually, the roles played by Vito Marzullo and Paul Ricca in the Twenty-fifth and First Wards are a more direct reference. Both these distinguished politicians controlled a lot of voters, reportedly both living and dead, under the Daley Organization, but they did not take "marching orders" from Richard Daley, they were more like partners. The Hollywood-glamorized roles of Sam Giancana/Frank Sinatra et cetera is a bit more speculative; if votes were "needed", then the 1st and 25th Wards were key.

(Kennedy carried Illinois by 4,500 votes, he carried Cook County by 450,000 votes. Actually, there was a partial recount and over 600 people were indicted and then acquitted. The most likely forms of election fraud did not involve "vote miscounting", this is not some kids' game.

As the Chicago Tribune ultimately put it "once an election has been stolen in Cook County, it stays stolen.")

[Lurker.]

great stores and gl with the book.

[Dominic]

[ QUOTE ]

Dominic is right as rain. People borrowed money at poker games on whatever collateral they had: hats, watches, rings, car titles, clothes, boots. One of Damon Runyon's famous stories, Little Miss Marker, was about a debt and a little girl. I'd loan this shorty forty on a star saphire ring with tiny diamonds on the sides. He'd pick it up and soak it again. Finally the ring was mine for a long time. I soaked it and a pocket pistol at Huber's Pawn Shop. They'd always laugh when I walked in the door. They sold marked cards and loaded dice and thought I was a sucker for going broke on the square.

I may use too many of the old Texas gambler sayings in these little stories. I don't know. My novel is packed with them, maybe that is not so hot.

In my earlier post on Cheating, Phil S. wrote the following about some of the Texas slang. Incidentally, that is the way I actually talk.

Here's Phil S.

Err, no.

Barking iron = gun right?
Define 'inside man' but by pockets nearly dry it means he is close to broke.
One eyed man means nothing to me? Id guess it means cheat, but i dunno.
Knocking off drippings i have no idea
Heel and toe means do a runner?
Blacktop time i guess means hit the road and drive away quick sharpish.

A lot of the sayings and phrases are easy enough to decipher, but a fair few seem pretty alien.

An inside man is a commercial gambler: a house man, a bookie, a dice man, a loan shark, a casino employee. An outside man is a poker player. He has no ties or backup. On the wire without a net. The purest form of freedom known to man. No bosses. No budgets. No schedules. And all you have to do is memorize Sklansky and Mamuth and have some wierd gift. The inside/outside man is discussed by Crandall Addington in Doyle's book.

Drippings would be where a guy is palming a card or holding out a card or has a card in his sleeve in a hold-out machine. If the edge of the card of a flash of color shows, that's called the drippings as in "I caught his drippings and pulled him up." If you suspect cheating, you clear your throat very loudly which means quit your wolfing.

Barking iron is, of course, guns. A one-eyed man in the game means there is cheating. Dry pockets means broke. I've been broke more times than the Ten Commandments.

You probably are so used to it, you don't think about it much but poker has it's own language. I find myself using these old Texas sayings to Nine to Fivers who look at me like I'm crazy. Do I use them too much?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I like them...but maybe in your book you should have a glossary!

And Little Miss Marker is a great story - haven't read it in years, though.

[Toro]

[ QUOTE ]
Johnny, your colloquialisms add a ton of color to already colorful stories. Please do continue using them. It might be helpful to have an appendix of terms now and again though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I find its more fun to try and figure them out for myself.