Post by Tex on Feb 8, 2009 22:09:04 GMT -6
In the 1930s, the Binions (later of the Horseshoe in Vegas) ran the Dallas gambling scene, which was wide open then. Benny Binion knew oil man H. L Hunt fairly well - Hunt made it as a gambler prior to the oil business and both like to hang around the high end call girls. Binion's favorite (1937) story about Hunt goes like this:
There was a horse named Sailor's Dream in the sixth race at Arlington (TX) Downs. It was a maiden race for eight two year old fillies - an extremely hard race to handicap. A well dressed gentleman in a tweed coat put $1000 on Sailor's Dream - the odds were 100 to 1. The tote board twinkled and the odds changed to 80 to 1. He returned and bet another $1000 on Sailor's Dream. The toe board twinkled again and the odds dropped to 60 to 1. Just as the horses entered the gate and the window was about to close, he returned and bet another $1000 on Sailor's Dream. The cashier asked him if he own Sailor's Dream. H. L. Hunt laughed and said, "No, I own the other seven."
There was a horse named Sailor's Dream in the sixth race at Arlington (TX) Downs. It was a maiden race for eight two year old fillies - an extremely hard race to handicap. A well dressed gentleman in a tweed coat put $1000 on Sailor's Dream - the odds were 100 to 1. The tote board twinkled and the odds changed to 80 to 1. He returned and bet another $1000 on Sailor's Dream. The toe board twinkled again and the odds dropped to 60 to 1. Just as the horses entered the gate and the window was about to close, he returned and bet another $1000 on Sailor's Dream. The cashier asked him if he own Sailor's Dream. H. L. Hunt laughed and said, "No, I own the other seven."
