Poker Alice Images
Poker Alice House
Poker Alice Band
Poker Alice Tubbs
Alice Ivers
Poker Alice

Sitting Bull

— Alice Ivers Tubbs; aka Poker Alice Perhaps the best known female poker player in the Old West, Alice Ivers Tubbs, better known as “Poker Alice”, hailed from England. Born on February 17, 1851, in Devonshire, she was the daughter of a conservative schoolmaster who moved the family to the United States when she was still a small girl.

A Brief History of Deadwood

The ownership of the sacred Six Grandfathers Mountain, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, was granted to the Sioux people in perpetuity by the 1868 Treaty of Ft Laramie. However, in 1874, General George A. Custer led a military expedition to the Black Hills and discovered gold.

Three of the more famous women gamblers of this time were Calamity Jane, Poker Alice, and Madame Mustache. Before long, many of the Old West mining camps such as Deadwood, Leadville, and Tombstone became as well known for gunfights over card games than they did for their wealth of gold and silver ore.
Alice Ivers Duffield was her actual name. Born in England as Alice Ivers in 1851, she moved to the US at age 12. Her Father was a Headmaster, and she was educated in a private boarding school. After her family moved to Colorado, chasing the Silver mines, she married Frank Duffield, a mining.

Although Sitting Bull led his warriors successfully in June, 1876, to defeat Custer, their victory was short-lived. The Sioux mostly dispersed and went to Canada. Eventually, Sitting Bull returned to the U.S. and was forced to live on a reservation. He was killed in December, 1890.

Read the complete story, HERE.

Although the U.S. government tried to keep it a secret, once the public learned of the discovery, the gold rush was on. The city of Deadwood was established in 1876, attracting notorious people like Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane to the town. The mostly male population living in rough mining camps frequented the numerous saloons, gambling halls, and brothels, welcoming the company of the prostitutes. 1890 brought the railroad to Deadwood, and with it, people from many ethnic groups. Chinese immigrants arrived to build the rail and work in the mines. Chinatown evolved at the north end of present-day Main Street.

Six Grandfathers Mountain

During the years 1927 – 1941, the sacred mountain was carved into what is known today as Mount Rushmore.

Deadwood, circa 1890s

Poker Alice Images

The dawn of the twentieth century still saw gambling and prostitution thriving in Deadwood as legitimate businesses. In 1919 the Prohibition Act banned the sale of alcohol. Later, gaming became illegal but continued behind closed doors. After the Prohibition Act was repealed in 1935, gambling flourished once again. By the 1950’s, gambling was gone and the brothels were being shut down by the state’s attorney. The last one to close was Pam’s Purple Door in 1980.

Poker Alice House

'Poker Alice'

Courtesy Deadwood History,
Adams Museum Collection, Deadwood, SD

Poker Alice Band

Poker Alice

Alice Ivers Duffield Tubbs Huckert (1851–1930), better known as Poker Alice, was a famous poker player in the American West. She started playing poker seriously after the death of her first husband, to support herself. Soon she was winning large amounts of money, using her good looks to distract the male players. Alice was known to always be carrying a gun with her, preferably her .38, and frequently smoked cigars. She met her third husband in Deadwood, at Bedrock Tom’s saloon.

Madam Dora DuFran (1868 – 1934) was one of the most successful madams in the Old West days of Deadwood and coined the term “cathouse”. Born in England, she emigrated to the United States with her parents around 1869.

Dora had several brothels over the years. The most popular was called “Diddlin’ Dora’s”, located in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Her other brothels in South Dakota were located in Lead, Sturgis, and Deadwood. While in Deadwood, Dora got married and continued her brothel operations.

Dora DuFran

Poker Alice Tubbs

Courtesy Deadwood History,
Adams Museum Collection, Deadwood, SD

Alice Ivers

Poker Alice

In 1986, local businesses lobbied for legalized gaming. The gaming issue was placed on the state ballot in 1988, passed, and was authorized to begin on November 1, 1989. Gambling has created economic development in Deadwood, increased tourism, and allowed the city to preserve its historic buildings and past.

Poker Alice Pictures