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Riggs, Joe

Gambler and casino owner of the Golden Bucket Saloon in Wagon Wheel, Wyoming Territory in the 1870s.[1] (September 29, 1824 – April 11, 1891)[2]

Riggs came to Wagon Wheel in 1869[2] and established the Golden Bucket Saloon and Casino, the first gambling house in town. A crooked businessman and true to his name, all of his games were rigged. Through the power he gained from the wealth he generated through the Golden Bucket, he practically ran the town. He employed a gang of henchmen to enforce his will. He managed to maintain a facade of legitimacy by offering to refund the money of any customer who believed he lost in a crooked game, but none challenged the offer out of fear of retribution.[1]

In 1870, Bret Maverick and Big Mike McComb traveled to Wagon Wheel, where Bret quickly realized the Golden Bucket was nothing but a brace joint. As the only game in town, locals had no option other than Rigg's place to find an honest table. Since Big Mike had recently operated the honest McComb's Saloon in Echo Springs,[3] Bret considered partnering with him and opening a competing saloon in Wagon Wheel to give the townsfolk an honest game. But Bret was still on the trail of the Tall Man, and establishing a business in Wyoming would mean staying in one place too long, so he moved on.[1]

On the Mississippi riverboat Stonewall Jackson near New Orleans in 1876, Bret encountered Riggs again. Needing money and having Riggs' brace joint fresh in his memory, he decided to finally go to Wagon Wheel and go against Riggs head to head. He partnered with Samantha Crawford to buy gambling equipment and establish the Square Deck down the street from the Golden Bucket.[1]

Before the Square Deck could open, Samantha doubled-crossed Bret by selling the equipment to Riggs for ten percent of the Golden Bucket's profits for the next three years. Bret was then forced him to confront Riggs directly. With the help of Ma Braus, Bret and Big Mike proved Riggs ran crooked games in front of Golden Bucket patrons. The patrons quickly turned on Riggs and smashed the saloon to bits, putting Riggs permanently out of business in Wagon Wheel.[1]

Disgraced and with his local reputation destroyed, Riggs left Wagon Wheel and moved his operation out of the territory.[2]

See: According to Hoyle