As It Happened: Poker Game Has Surprise Ending Here

This article appeared in the December 7, 1957 edition of the Times-Gazette.

Poker Game Has Surprise Ending Here

A basement poker game at 227 Mary street broke up early on Nov. 29, when one of the players arrested all the other players.

Magistrate F.S. Ebbs fined William McKenna, 40, 227 Mary street $100 and costs for keeping a common gaming house, when he heard details of the game.

Cpl. W. J. Shrubb of the Ontario Provincial Police anti-gambling squad told the court that, acting on information received, he had assigned an officer, with $60 in marked bills, to go to the McKenna residence.

Cpl. Shrubb testified that the officer fent [sic] to the house and, after being questioned by McKenna, sat in on a poker game. The game was held in the kitchen until more players arrived, when it was adjourned to the basement.

Cpl. Shrubb said McKenna took one to three 25-cent chips from every “pot” throughout the game.

The officer went on to say that, in company with Oshawa police he executed a search warrant at the premises, arrested all those in the poker game and confiscated $128.11 which was on the table. The officer said that some of the marked money was found on McKenna, and a marked $20 bill was taken from a purse belonging to McKenna’s wife. He explained that she had changed the bill for her husband and was asleep at the time of the raid.

Eight decks of playing cards, six dice, and a table gambling game were confiscated from the house.

R. D. Humphreys QC, representing McKenna, said that the amount involved in the game was “peanuts” and noted that this was McKenna’s first offence.

To this, Crown Attorney Alex Hall QC replied: “For some reason, there is nothing that tends more to undermine the administration of a law than illegal gambling. It is easy to blow out a match, but not so easy to stop a forest fire.”

Handing out a fine which he described as “lenient,” Magistrate Ebbs confiscated the money found in the game to the crown. He released the $20 found in Mrs. McKenna’s purse, when requested to do so by the Mr. Humphreys.

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