The Poker Game That Landed Everyone in Jail
An attempted robbery report backfired for two men who both ended up arrested for illegal gambling.
Two laborers named M. Wall and Joseph Gerlios were arrested by Officer Surry in the Columbus house yesterday for gambling. Wall called in the officer to have him arrest Gerlios for robbing him of $10 on a 'pat' poker hand. Gerlios said Wall beat him out of $15 at a square game. Each having convicted himself of gambling, the officer arrested both.
“Each having convicted himself of gambling, the officer arrested both.”
Then · 1892134 years apartNow · 2026
This humorous vignette of early Seattle street life illustrates the precarious nature of 'gambling' as a social offense—one that was rarely about morality and more often about public disorder or domestic conflict.
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