I’m not really talking about games that were invented to be bet on, like Poker, which is very popular these days, or on sports where the gamblers aren’t participating.
That said, it seems like there was a lot more betting between individuals in the “olden days”. For example, in Amarillo Slim’s book, he talks about roaming from small town to small town wagering relatively large amounts on pool games. Then he goes on to describe being involved in or participating in some down right ridiculous wagers for real sums of money. I think one such story involved playing ping pong with skillets or something equally as silly. Also, some older movies talk about “country club hustlers” (Casino comes to mind) who are apparently people who hang around golf courses looking to bet on golf related feats. Caddyshack also featured some golf betting. The movie King Pin, although almost certainly tongue in cheek, focuses on betting on bowling. Older Playboys talk about winning “bar bets”, which always made me wonder who in the heck goes around betting strangers in bars over random feats of skill? Even though I said I’m not talking about games designed for gambling, I know a famous steak house in Oklahoma changed hands in a hotel craps game way back when. I just can’t imagine relatively well-to-do folks hanging out in a hotel room shooting craps for big bucks today.
I’ve been hanging out in bars for the better part of a decade, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Maybe a friendly wager for drinks or something, but Amarillo seemed to be talking about betting hundreds or thousands of dollars in any old backwoods tavern years ago.
So, are these old betting tales real, or exaggerations and products of Hollywood? If they were real, was it widespread? Does it still go on and I haven’t noticed? Was it a passing fad or has it been replaced with widespread casinos, poker games, and the internet as a means for people to get their gamble on?