Hunt made a killing. Again and again he raked in big pots, three times taking the biggest game in town. He quickly amassed enough cash to buy his way into one of the town’s few hotel rooms, and within days he had enough to rent a shack at the foot of South Washington where he opened his own dingy cardroom. Within weeks he had saved enough to take over the first floor of a nicer building up the street, a large single room he packed with card tables, chairs, and floor areas to throw dice. Hunt’s ad hoc casino was a tidy, safe place in a violent, dirty town; he earned a good reputation and caused
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