Search the Encyclopedia Mavericana:   ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Square Deck, the

Gambling house in Wagon Wheel, Wyoming Territory, established 1876.[1]

Bret Maverick came to Wagon Wheel in 1876 with Samantha Crawford to give Joe Riggs' crooked Golden Bucket Saloon and Casino some honest competition. Bret had purchased $9,000 of gambling equipment in St. Louis to be delivered in Wagon Wheel. Big Mike McComb introduced Bret to Ma Braus, who agreed to let Bret open his Square Deck in an unused building she owned in town.

Big Mike had flyers printed up, announcing the pending opening of the Square Deck to the townsfolk, but before it could be established, Samantha double-crossed Bret by partnering with Joe Riggs and George Cross and exchanging the new gambling equipment for ten percent of the Golden Bucket's profits for the next three years.

Without the gambling equipment, Bret was forced to expose Riggs' crooked games directly. After proving to customers at the Golden Bucket that Riggs was using marked cards, the patrons smashed the casino to bits. Exposed and disgraced, Riggs sold the new gambling equipment to Ma Braus, who hired Big Mike to run the new Square Deck for her as an honest gambling house.[1]

See: According to Hoyle