Criminal. She received her notoriety as a gambler, bootlegger, madam. Alice Ivers was born and educated in England. She and her family immigrated to Virginia when she was in her late teens, eventually migrating to Colorado where she married a mining engineer. He was a skilled gambler and she accompanied her husband to the gambling parlors and soon started sitting in on the games. After her husband was killed in a mining accident, she began to play poker for a living, earning the name of Poker Alice. She began traveling and gambling all over the West, achieving quite a reputation as a cigar smoking poker player. She settled to Deadwood, South Dakota, where she became somewhat of a local legend and could be seen constantly at the faro tables puffing on a black stogie. Due to her good looks and reputation, she attracted a lot of men to the table. Her winnings often totaled as much as $6,000 a night. There she met her second husband, Warren Tubbs. After his death from tuberculosis, Alice moved to Sturgis, South Dakota, where she ran a speakeasy and bootlegged alcohol until prohibition shut her down. She then opened a brothel catering to the soldiers at Fort Meade. Alice, herself, was never a prostitute, as a professional gambler, she considered herself at a much higher social status. During the last years of her life, she was often arrested for drunkenness and keeping a house of ill repute. Eventually, she was sentenced to a term in the state prison for her repeated convictions as a madam. However, being 75 years old at the time of her sentencing, she was immediately pardoned by the governor. Her house in Sturgis now serves as a Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Criminal. She received her notoriety as a gambler, bootlegger, madam. Alice Ivers was born and educated in England. She and her family immigrated to Virginia when she was in her late teens, eventually migrating to Colorado where she married a mining engineer. He was a skilled gambler and she accompanied her husband to the gambling parlors and soon started sitting in on the games. After her husband was killed in a mining accident, she began to play poker for a living, earning the name of Poker Alice. She began traveling and gambling all over the West, achieving quite a reputation as a cigar smoking poker player. She settled to Deadwood, South Dakota, where she became somewhat of a local legend and could be seen constantly at the faro tables puffing on a black stogie. Due to her good looks and reputation, she attracted a lot of men to the table. Her winnings often totaled as much as $6,000 a night. There she met her second husband, Warren Tubbs. After his death from tuberculosis, Alice moved to Sturgis, South Dakota, where she ran a speakeasy and bootlegged alcohol until prohibition shut her down. She then opened a brothel catering to the soldiers at Fort Meade. Alice, herself, was never a prostitute, as a professional gambler, she considered herself at a much higher social status. During the last years of her life, she was often arrested for drunkenness and keeping a house of ill repute. Eventually, she was sentenced to a term in the state prison for her repeated convictions as a madam. However, being 75 years old at the time of her sentencing, she was immediately pardoned by the governor. Her house in Sturgis now serves as a Bed and Breakfast Inn.
Family Members
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