What It Was Really Like Gambling In The Wild West By Jan MacKell Collins/Jan. 26, 2021 3:34 pm EDT/Updated: Jan. 26, 2021 3:36 pm EDT With casinos sprinkled all across America today, most people think they have a grasp on the fine art of gambling. During the 1800s, however, gambling in the Wild West was quite different. Especially in the Wild West, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought thousands of prospectors who enjoyed trying their luck at games of chance in places like San Francisco. Soon, primitive gaming houses were popping up everywhere, from large cities to small mining camps. Long before theaters and other forms of recreational entertainment were built, the mostly male populations of these places engaged in what History Net calls the "Triple-W" vices — "whiskey-drinking, whoring, and wagering."