my dice switches couldn’t be de tected. Because of my skill I was in great demand among the gamblers. They all wanted to get into a game with me for they then could claim 50% of what we won. One of our rackets was riding on the trains and getting some unsuspecting man into a “ friendly” card game. It was friendly for about- two or three minutes and then we “ cold-decked” him (switched a prepared deck for the one he had just shuffled) and he’d lose everything he had, usually including his watch and ring, if he had one. This racket was called “ hustling the duke.” Let me tell you how I became a professional gambler. My parents loved the Lord. There were many factors in my early life that had a direct hearing on my later years, but I did love the Lord as a small hoy and promised Him I would serve Him. However, from the time I was about 14 until I was over 17 I worked in a barber shop after school. There was a poker game in the rear of the shop almost contin ually. The town I lived in was a tough town. As a boy I remember there were about a dozen saloons
didn’t know. I’d end up by promis ing Him that the next day I’d throw all my crooked dice, etc., into the river and become a Christian. The next day I’d get up, take a few drinks and promptly go back to my old habits. Then the next night I’d weep again and repeat the per formance of the night before. Finally one night I realized I was a liar. I knelt down and said, “ Lord, for the first time in my life I am going to tell you the truth. I have lied to you every time I have prayed to you and I knew I was lying. I can’t quit gambling, I can’t quit drinking, I can’t quit anything. I am just a lost sinner; God, have mercy on my soul.” I no more than had those words out of my mouth and heart than God met me. Suddenly I saw, for the first time, my sin. It wasn’t drinking and gambling. It was that I had been leading people away from God all my life. One after the other God brought them up before me. I thought of people I had for gotten years ago. I do not know how many hours this went on but when God was through showing me what I looked like to Him, I couldn’t live like I had before. I still had my crooked dice. God did not want my dice; He wanted my heart and He got it that night. I knew I was forgiven and my nature started to change. I couldn’t beat anyone any more. Instead I wanted to tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ and the revolution He brought to my life. In the years since I came to God through Jesus Christ I’ve found the deep, inner joy I’d sought for so long. It’s because of this revolu tion that I’m writing this story. Maybe some of you have wanted something a little more satisfying than life has given you so far. May be right now is the time you should make the experiment of trusting in Jesus Christ to take care of your past and to give you a real purpose for your present and for your future. You’ll never know until you make the experiment of letting go and trusting in Jesus Christ. Life is too short to gamble with your eternal soul. At least I think so.
and only four or five grocery stores. A professional gambler came into town and posed as a barber. When no one was in the shop but us he would start teaching me some card manipulations. I’d go home and practice all night. Often I practiced until daylight in my room and then would grab an hour’s sleep and get up and go to school. My folks didn’t know I was sitting up all night. I always told the Lord I was just learning so I would know how to do it. I told Him I’d never use it. It wasn’t long before I was get ting into games and, of course, I won from the start and by the time I was out of high school I was much faster than the gambler who taught me. I not only practiced what he showed me but invented methods of cheating. He took me on several trips into western North Dakota where some real bands of crooks hung out. They were surprised to see my skill and gladly taught me all they knew. I soaked it up like a sponge. There were several gangs of bank robbers out there. It was not a federal offense then, and it was common for them to cook up the “ soup” (nitroglycerin) in their room and then go out at night and blow some safe in a bank or post office. They were willing to teach me the racket but I had enough sense to say no. I knew there was less chance of getting into the peni tentiary from gambling than rob bing banks. After getting out of high school I went out as a professional gambler. I became a common figure in cer tain underworld circles. I was con sidered to be a very good and successful gambler. On the surface it looked like I had everything but underneath I was unhappy. I had no peace or joy. I knew my life was rotten. That is the only word that adequately describes it. Then something happened. God started to convict me of my sin. For several weeks I’d go to my room at night and weep by the hour, telling God what a terrible sinner I was. I guess I thought I was telling Him something He
Photos: Bill Bell
In the rear of the shop From the bottom of the deck, a fast deal
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JANUARY 1957
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