Know When to Hold ‘Em

Kenny Rodgers had it right.  Back in the old west, meeting up with a gambler on a passenger train would not be that out of the ordinary

According to Keith Wheeler's The Railroaders, historians estimate that more than 300 cardsharps called the Union Pacific Railroad system "home," and a deck of cards was colloquially referred to as a "railroad Bible."
The British cardsharp known as Poker Alice Ivers, a blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty, made her name running gaming tables in the mining camps, but spent her vacation days playing high-stakes poker games on trains. She was so successful in her travels that she finally retired to Deadwood, South Dakota and invested her winnings in a moral bordello, closing her doors on Sundays to teach Bible lessons to her employees.
George Devol was one of the most well-known railroad cardsharps, reportedly won more than $2 million from his fellow passengers playing popular games such as three-card Monte, but he liked to take chances and lost most of his winnings. Devol also marked his deck when playing cards and was known to be involved in more than one gun battle in defense of his life. He was also known to have jumped from more than one speeding train, dodging bullets.
Canada Bill Jones may have been the only gambler who tried to make a deal with the railroads in order to legitimize his trade, offering the Union Pacific Railroad $10,000 for one year rights to all three-card Monte games on the line, promising he would only target "traveling salesmen and Methodist preachers." The railroad turned him down.