Placing Bets

John B. Learock. A Lecture on Gambling, and the Delinquency of the City Authorities. Boston: Richard L. Daley, 1862.

In this pamphlet, ex-gambler John Learock reports on the “alarming increase” of gambling houses in his city of Boston, noting that “young men have been swindled out of sums varying from $500 to $1000 in one night.” Having frequented them himself, Learock enumerates where they are, who is running them, and the games they offer. He convincingly claims that police officers, judges, and district attorneys are willingly taking bribes from operators, enabling them to continue unhindered. Indeed, many of the places he describes were located within blocks of the courthouse.