z Sold ~ Gambling Parlor Chuck-A-Luck Antique

Old Antique Chuck-A-Luck with 3 Large Sized Dice.  11 1/2 inches tall by 5 1/4  inches wide.  Metal Base.  Diameter of top & bottom of cage is 5 inches and the cage is 10 1/4 inches long.  Bottoms of both cages are covered with green felt in good condition.   This is SOLID and in very good shape.  The dice are large (13/16ths inch) and it looks like all 3 are original if you compare the patina.  The base shows a few rust spots, but overall very good condition.  This is the type of devise that would have been found on the riverboats and gambling houses along the Mississippi River. 

Chuck-A-Luck is a gambling game that employs a wire cage and 3 dice.  The game originated in the pubs of England, where it was known as Sweat Cloth.  About c. 1800 the game made its way to America where it was called Sweat.  Other names were given to this game, such as Chuck, Chucker-Luck and Chuck-Luck.  In the beginning, instead of a cage, dice were thrown from a cup.  The cup was eventually replaced with a cone-shaped devise and an hour-glass shaped cage, called a birdcage.

It has been written that professional gamblers shunned such games of chance and referred to the trail hands that played this game as "Tinhorn Gamblers" because of the metal cone devise and the lack of skill needed to play the game.  Chuck-A-Luck evolved into a more advanced game called "Grand Hazard".  This game offered worse odds for the player in its more complex layout and betting options. Pictured below is a Grand Hazard layout, it is not included.

SAVVY SAYINS:  "A cowboy buckin' gamblers don't ride home with his tail up."