The Backroom Shuffle: Seattle’s Underground Gambling Revival
As the century turns, whispers circulate through the city that the illicit gaming houses are preparing to reopen, fueled by rumors of local political complacency.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The click-clack of the ivory and the whirl of the roulette wheel may soon be heard in the Washington Street resorts. That the gambling houses will be opened again within a few days and allowed to run is claimed to be assured. A very significant feeling in the air within the past few days of a number of dealers and owners seen out with the old gambling rooms when questioned about the matter, led the street to believe that the houses were to reopen, but stated that they understood the 'closed' houses would be doing business very shortly. It is believed that the gambling house proprietors have been led to believe that they may once more be allowed to operate, owing to the alleged decrease in revenue in the city, consequent upon the action of the council to close them up, and certain city people have been seen informing the men to be on hand.
“The click-clack of the ivory and the whirl of the roulette wheel may soon be heard in the Washington Street resorts.”
The recurring tension between city councils and the underground economy of gambling—often framed around tax revenue versus moral policing—remains a persistent struggle in municipal politics. Just as the gambling houses in 1899 relied on the promise of increased city revenue to stay open, modern Seattle continues to debate the merits of expanding gambling, tax-heavy industries, and the enforcement of morality through zoning and regulation.
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