Follow Eleven Warriors' journey through great to odd moments in Ohio State history with our series, Remember When?
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Ohio State students of a certain age can head to a legalized casino on the western outskirts of Columbus if they wish to risk their money on games of chance or fortune.
Pokers, craps, black jack, slots — All forms of gambling establishments usually found in Las Vegas, albeit this one comes without a sportsbook.
This wasn't the case in 1936. Though gambling wasn't legalized, Buckeye students didn't have to wonder far to find a game of poker... or anything else, really. The Lantern, the official voice of the Ohio State studentry, sent some enterprising reporters to the scene in November of that year. They were quick to find a game of poker... as well as drop a dime to police.
From November 11th, 1936 Lantern report without a byline:
A visit was made to a shop on North High Street above West Frambes Avenue, where a game of poker was in progress in the rear. No questions were asked of the reporter as he was admitted by a man who acted as manager of the place.
Seven men were seated around an oblong table in the rear, over which hung two shaded electric bulbs, serving as the only means of illumination. At an inside curve of the table a young man, working for the "house," acted as dealer for the poker game. Stakes ran from five cents to 15 cents on each open card dealt. At the end of each deal, the dealer took from five to 20 cents, depending on the amount of money in the "pot," before the winner was given the chips on the table.
Sounds like Jesse James-level organized crime.
The unnamed reporter even got a quote from the operating manager of this den of iniquity:
Questioned as to the time that the games are started, the man who was acting as operator said, "We start at about 7:30 or 8 at night. Come around any time. We're glad to have you."
Damning stuff. The investigation didn't stop there, either. Another location "below the street level near the entrance to the University, on north High Street" — I'm envisioning Too's Spirits Under High, may peace be upon it — where a "number of men" were found at two tables playing Rummy, a game usually reserved for retirement homes in 2016.
An operator of a lair of ill repute on East Fifth Avenue "within one block of North High Street," oversaw a money stakes poker and advertised the crap game he was hosting the following night.
A few doors down, a man outside a door asked an investigator, "Do you want to shoot some craps, buddy?" The reporter replied affirmatively and promptly lost $2 over three minutes. Afterwards, Webster's Dictionary told him odds are 251 to 244 against the caster in a game of craps.
Another location four blocks north of Union Station (where Union Café presently stands) was littered with horse racing slips.
When an investigator got to the big fish — a source told him an operation on West Broad, a block off High Street was "the most complete gambling-layout in the city" — he told the bouncer he was "20 years" was was told only university students 21 or older could enter.
The Lantern notified Dean Joseph A. Park of the investigation's results. He said was a criminal manner, and thus the jurisdiction of the Columbus Police Department.
The CPD's secretary of public safety referred the reporter to Police Lieutenant Earl F. Heise, commander of the vice squad, saying it was his duty to "get results" in such cases.
Lieutenant Heise declined an opportunity to give a statement when reached by phone.
[Read the full article.]
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