Weekly Register-Call/ Gilpin County News

Was it more fun when illegal in the 40s and 50s?

“Gambling was more fun back in the old days and you guys got a bigger cut too.” That’s what one old timer told me as I drove him around in the Central City bus a decade ago.  He may have been correct on that point. Possibly more money went into good civic causes back in the 40s and 50s, or at least it looked that way. When the Smaldone family ran the games in Central City and Rollinsville they prided themselves on giving back to the community. There are some outstanding examples of that give back.

Food Stamps before Government Food Stamps

Right now we’re in tough financial times. In some counties in the U.S. Food stamp use has increased by 40% in just the last three years. There was once a bit of a stigma when someone inserted that little plastic food stamp card at the Safeway. Today 36 million Americans do that when buying their milk or a loaf of bread. One in every four U.S. children will eat a dinner tonight that’s been provided in part by food stamps. Actually the correct name for the program is “nutritional aids” and maybe that name change has helped erase any stigma. Any way you look at it, it’s a popular and needed program, but it’s not new around here.

The Smaldone family always said they gave half of their gambling profits back to the community, especially to needy families. “Checkers” and Clyde (he hated to be called “flip flop”) Smaldone helped out many a Gilpin family. Fond memories remain of the Smaldones giving out boxes of food and boxes of clothes right here in Rollinsville. The school lunch program at Gilpin School was practically non existent until the Smaldones began funding it generously. Bill Lorenz (co-owner of the Black Forest and raconteur of local lore) tells me that Central City never would have had a water system if the Smaldones hadn’t built it. Apparently the mayor at that time, John C. Jenkins, was so grateful that he was present the day the Smaldones opened their big casino. It was called The Monte Carlo, situated prominently at the intersection of Main and Eureka in downtown Central City.

The Gambling Raids of Yesteryear

The Smaldones had no trouble with the local Gilpin law. The popular Sheriff is still remembered around these parts. Sheriff Tom Collins was a long time friend of Clyde Smaldone and certainly didn’t bother the operation. I once asked Bill Russell (he’s since passed away) what the Central City law had to say about it. He was a bit coy in his answer. He, after all, was a deputy sheriff (in a more or less volunteer capacity) for decades. He did allow that the district attorney always knew about the gambling, and the local city council (he was on it) looked the other way.

Bill Russell pointed out that the gambling in the Teller House wasn’t run by the Smaldones originally, but by the gang managed by somebody named Mongone, who also may have managed the prostitutes down in Black Hawk. Apparently Mongone faded from the scene after the Smaldones came on. Russell also said that the City Marshall knew all about the gambling too. In fact, when a symbolic raid was called, advance word often came from local law enforcement. These “raids” weren’t much. A car would arrive from Denver and the Monte Carlo would pull down its’ shades and put up a closed sign next to its ice ream parlor sign. The official car would tour Main Street and head back up to El Rancho for lunch.

Nice for the Locals, but Still Illegal

Gambling was, nevertheless, illegal. Various Gilpin County officials went down to the legislature to try and rectify that situation, but didn’t get too far. When a new District Attorney was elected in 1950, a man called Hackethal, there were threats (never carried out) of a Second Judicial District grand jury to investigate Gilpin County. One such grand jury was actually convened in Denver to no result. At that same time a new Justice of the Peace, Lowell Griffith, was appointed. He vowed to enforce anti-gambling laws. He was hung in effigy, according to Bill Russell, and was horribly unpopular. Still he stayed on, though Bill said almost no one in Gilpin wanted gambling to stop. Russell certainly liked gambling. He said it gave lots of life to the town and was a local industry.

The Smaldone family moved their operations out in 1950. They returned to run a few benefit holiday games at social clubs and so on, especially at Christmas time. They ran a few benefit games for Catholic Charities and possibly for the Elk’s Club in the wider area. But gambling was never again the Gilpin cottage industry it had been. The Smaldones said they didn’t care for underground gambling, at least in Central City. They complained that they missed their role as open benefactors of the city. Bill Russell also doubted that Gilpin was ever a very big money operation for them. Perhaps they made some high profits when they had their bulk whiskey still contacts around Rollinsville, but gambling itself was never high profit here. After 1950, gambling stayed more or less underground and seasonal until legalization changed everything in our current era.

Was It More Fun Then?

A few of the old timers are convinced that gambling was more fun back in the “illegal” days. They especially hated the $5 limit, but that’s gone now. They also hate it that they can’t have a beer and a pizza at Dostal Alley on the way home after 2 a.m. They can still have the pizza, and maybe the beer will come along soon. Apparently there was more free food put out in the “old days” (including pickled eggs if you like them). But most of the casinos today put out free drinks if you’re gambling and now and again free munchies at the bar.  The old guard tells me the dealers were more fun then too. They engaged in banter with the customers and told lots of jokes. I have no way of judging that. It seems to me dealers are pretty busy folks, but always are friendly enough. I do resonate with one complaint. So many of the new gaming devices are “human free.” Who wants to play roulette with an electronic machine? The human dealer makes all the difference I’d say. She or he can laugh with you when you’ve finally lost the twenty bucks your wife let you out of the house with. You’ll even tip that dealer! Maybe this prejudice against machines makes me one of the “old timers,” even though I feel younger than ever.

A New Book Tells More About the Smaldones

There’s a new book out by Dick Kreck on the Smaldone family. You can check it out at the Gilpin Library and I’ll return it this week. Bill Lorenz has read it and tells me it’s full of facts about their family history we didn’t know. It especially goes into the gang wars they engaged in to protect their Denver area territory against the “real Mafia” which came out of Pueblo. I love Dick Kreck’s writing and truly enjoyed his “Murder at The Brown Palace,” so this will be good. As more and more big newspapers fold, I lament the fact that writers like Dick won’t find a place anymore. It is just about impossible to imagine this former writer for the Denver Post writing a blog.

Spare a Thought for Checkers and Flip Flop

The Smaldones would be amazed at how much cash flows through today’s casinos. I seem to recall 716 million bucks in 2008. That $716M was roughly the bets, minus the pay-outs for a year. These days the cities like Central City and Black Hawk don’t have to depend on the Smaldones to build a water plant. They collect money in device fees. Folks around the county have jobs these days too, some in the casinos and some as spin-offs from the casinos. People I know get 401k plans and health insurance. It is definitely a richer time than “back in the day.” When Clyde Smaldone died in bed in 1998 at age 91, he could look back on a long life and believe, as he told the press, that gambling was always good for Gilpin County. Next time I walk down Main Street Central and look at all those holiday lights, I’ll spare a thought for Checkers and Flip Flop.