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| Soapy Smith's roulette table Courtesy of Potter and Potter Auctions |
(Click image to enlarge)
OAPY SMITH'S ROULETTE TABLE UP FOR AUCTION!
Potter and Potter Auctions the Ricky Jay Collection.Auction Description: Lot 318
SMITH, “Soapy” (Jefferson Randolph Smith, 1860 – 98). “Soapy” Smith’s Roulette Table and Wheel. Denver: George Mason and Co., ca. 1890. Handsome full-size roulette layout, table, and wheel manufactured by the noted gambling supply house and owned and used by notorious con man “Soapy” Smith. 95 ½ x 40 x 31”, outer wheel diameter (cradle) 31 ½”. Hub bears the manufacturer’s name. Wheel spins freely. Sold with a Mason and Co. check rack (stencil-marked by the maker underneath), and a later set of chips, likely manufactured by H.C. Evans of Chicago. Layout rubbed and worn, but in good condition overall; finish of table and legs also worn, but overall, a sturdy and impressive relic not only of the American west, but one of its most notorious figures, and among the most prominent makers of gambling equipment of the era. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from Smith’s descendant to Ricky Jay attesting to the provenance of the wheel and table, the family’s ownership of same, as well as a catalog from the sale of the Pullen Alaska Museum collection by Greenfield Galleries of Seattle, featuring the roulette wheel on its cover. One of the more notorious denizens of Skagway, Alaska, Smith’s reputation was as a con man, gambler, and criminal of considerable renown. After his family fortune was lost in the aftermath of the Civil War, Smith prospered by becoming a criminal kingpin in Texas, operating rigged games of Three Card Monte, poker, and the venerable Three Shell Game. Later, he lived and conned in Colorado for years, in both Creede (a mining boom town), and Denver. It was in the latter city where this wheel was manufactured by the famous firm of Mason and Co., one of the best-known gaming supply houses of the era. The sobriquet of “Soapy” was conferred on Smith thanks to a sleight-of-hand swindle devised to sell bars of soap. Smith demonstrated to a crowd how valuable cash prizes were hidden in the paper wrappers of a select number of bars, and when some customers ripped open the paper packaging to discover the hidden loot, business boomed. But these winners were “Soapy’s” accomplices – the laymen in the crowd never stood a chance of finding hidden greenbacks. A simple dexterous dodge made certain the bars of soap with the extra bills went straight to those in cahoots with the con man. Smith died in a gunfight in Juneau, Alaska on July 8, 1898. A dispute over a game of Three Card Monte led to the shootout that cost him his life.
Minimum Bid: $5,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $20,000
Number of Bids: 0
Time Left: [As of this post (01/12/2023) there are 43 days left]
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| Soapy Smith's roulette table Courtesy of Potter and Potter Auctions |
(Click image to enlarge)
The roulette table belonged to my great-grandfather Jefferson Randolph Smith II, alias "Soapy" Smith. It is very possible that he used the table in one or more of his gambling houses in Denver and Creede, Colorado, etc., each location mentioning "roulette" being offered. He knew the George Mason Company of Denver well, as their store was only about two blocks from Soapy's Tivoli Club saloon and gaming house.
In 1897-98, during the Klondike gold rush Soapy shipped the table to Skagway, Alaska. As shipping to the new camp was at a premium, it is believed that the equipment, wheel, layout, etc., minus the table and legs, were shipped at a cost of $1,000 (according to Harriet Pullen). The table and legs are believed to have been made in Skagway, but it is equally possible that the entire setup was shipped. Either way, the items were likely crated because if
the ship company saw illegal gambling equipment, the charge might have been
even more. An enormous price, but Soapy knew he would make his money back very quickly.
the ship company saw illegal gambling equipment, the charge might have been
even more. An enormous price, but Soapy knew he would make his money back very quickly.
After Soapy's death and the gold rush subsided, the table eventually made it's way to the Pullen House hotel operated by gold rush pioneer Harriet Pullen, who claimed to have known Soapy. The roulette table and other Skagway artifacts were placed in her hotel as a private museum of the Days of '98. The museum and hotel remained open until Pullen's death in 1947.
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| Soapy Smith's roulette table Harriet Pullen age 80 standing with Soapy's roulette table Pullen House, Skagway. Jeff Smith collection |
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| Soapy Smith's roulette table Harriet Pullen spins Soapy Smith's roulette table Pullen House, Skagway. Jeff Smith collection |
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In 1959 Harriet Pullen's granddaughter Mary Kopanski moved the Pullen museum to the Food Circus Balcony at the Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. In the 1970s the Seattle Center announced that they were tearing down the building and thus evicting the museum. Mary Kopanski decided to sell the collection at auction in 1975.
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| Pullen House Museum advertisement roulette table Soapy's roulette table is mentioned Pullen House, Skagway. Jeff Smith collection |
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In 1973 My father, mother and I went to the Pullen collection auction in Seattle, Washington, where my father purchased the roulette table, Soapy's grave marker and other artifacts. Considering Soapy was a confidence man, my father believed that the table might be gaffed (rigged for cheating) and so when it arrived from the auction house he proceeded to carefully take it apart to examine it but no gaffing could be found. It's a square (honest) table.
We built a saloon and gambling hall in a back building to display the roulette table and my father's gambling collection. I inherited the roulette table upon my father's passing in 1987.
In the 2000s I sold the roulette table to magician/actor Ricky Jay, a big fan of Soapy's.
In the 2000s I sold the roulette table to magician/actor Ricky Jay, a big fan of Soapy's.
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| Soapy Smith's roulette table - Seattle Center museum Magazine article on Pullen Museum Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington Jeff Smith collection |
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Ricky Jay, an absolute master of slight of hand and card tricks passed away in 2018.
Ideally, I would like to see the table sell for an enormous amount. High enough that the media might notice and report on it. One of my primary goals since the 1980s has been to see Soapy Smith become a very well-known character of the old west. All Soapy needs is a major motion picture or series about his life and death!
Ideally, I would like to see the table sell for an enormous amount. High enough that the media might notice and report on it. One of my primary goals since the 1980s has been to see Soapy Smith become a very well-known character of the old west. All Soapy needs is a major motion picture or series about his life and death!
For more photographs of the roulette table see the "Potter and Potter Auctions" link below.
SOURCES
Soapy's roulette table: pages 74, 124-25, 126-27, 419-20, 451, 456, 471, 480.
"He made fortune after fortune and spent it all in riotous living and in good deeds, for it must be ever said of "Soapy" that no hungry man ever asked aid of him and was refused."
——San Francisco Examiner, February 25, 1898
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