Harry High Stakes

Harry High-Stakes

The owner of the Deadwood Saloon, you are very proud of your establishment. Less than a year ago, you founded the saloon. In that short time, your saloon has gained much popularity and prominence in the community. While you would like to say that the saloon’s popularity was all part of a well thought out business plan, it was not. You simply founded the Deadwood Saloon in hopes of making a legitimate and steady income when you returned home to Henrietta (your wife) and the town of Deadwood after five years of gold-digging.

While you were away searching for gold, you made yourself a small fortune robbing stagecoaches with your old partner in crime, Jesse Wales. After robbing the stagecoaches, you would often spend a great deal (if not all) of your loot at the poker tables where you earned the nickname of “High-Stakes.” Your nickname refers to your tendency to gamble away large amounts of money in one single hand. For this you are famous and it is no wonder that you are known by so many across the land. Even though your saloon has blossomed in the past year, your marriage has not. Since your return to Deadwood, Henrietta (your wife) has been nothing but a nuisance to you. In the past three months, you have been paying Sheriff Sam (the local sheriff ) to have an affair with Henrietta in order to keep her occupied and away from the saloon.

With Henrietta distracted, you are able to focus on gambling without her knowledge. Unfortunately for you, your gambling talents have gotten rusty in the last year and you have lost a great deal of money at the poker tables...so much that you are greatly in debt. Although the saloon has become very popular, you are having problems paying the bank on time and in full. Since opening the saloon, you have gambled away the majority of the saloon profits. If you cannot find a way to earn some of the money back, you may end up losing the saloon to the bank this month. The prospect of losing your saloon became real to you when you heard a rumor that Montgomery Money (an investor from the East) is traveling to Deadwood to scout out the saloon.

While in Deadwood, Montgomery is talking with Banker Bob (the bank owner) about purchasing the saloon from the bank if it goes into foreclosure. In an attempt to save your saloon from being repossessed, you turned the books over to Billy-The-Bartender (your bartender) hoping that he might find a solution for your financial troubles. He has not. In addition to the bank, you are also in debt to a number of other people, including your very deadly ex-partner Jesse Wales. Jesse notified you last month that they would be stopping by to collect what you owed and you dread Jesse’s arrival. In a last-ditch effort to save your saloon and dig your way out of debt, you decided to throw the grandest of grand poker tournaments. It was your vision to create a tournament that would attract the best poker players at the highest stakes and thus provide you with a large profit. In your tournament, you are offering a purse of $100,000, a monetary amount unheard of in this time.

Unfortunately, not enough gamblers entered the tournament for you to draw a substantial profit. As a result, you enlisted Gambling Jack (one of the gamblers and an old-time buddy of yours) to help you. You agreed to let Jack cheat in the tournament if he would return the winnings to you. Since Gambling Jack always cheats (a secret only you know), you threatened to reveal his secret and ruin his gambling career if he did not comply. Gambling Jack agreed to help you, but somehow still managed to lose in the tournament. You are going to have to find a way to raise money for your saloon and fast! As the Deadwood Poker Tournament Party approaches, you realize that it is your last chance to turn a large profit and keep your saloon from foreclosure. At the party, you plan to be the perfect host and encourage everyone to drink up and dance with your saloon girls in order to make enough money to save your saloon!

Acting and Dressing Your Part:

The owner of the saloon, you will dress with class. Assured and suave, it is vital to hide the fact that you are afraid of losing the saloon from everyone. Some may suspect you are getting in over your head financially, but you are to remain confident. You will end the night ahead.