We stopped in Deadwood, SD on our way back from Rushmore.  Before the HBO series about the town, Deadwood’s claim to fame is that it’s the place where Jack McCall shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back while he played poker, holding the Aces and Eights, in what would become known as the “Dead Man’s Hand.”  

 

I think Wild Bill would be pissed if he could see Deadwood  today.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good tourist trap as much as anyone, but that’s the key word.  Good.  Deadwood today is essentially string of cheesy souvenir shops and slot machine parlors.  The souvenirs all have Hickok or his final poker hand emblazoned on them, and run the gamut from the typical shot glasses, playing card decks, and keychains.  No creativity at all.

 

You can’t even find a poker game in Deadwood- it’s all slots with the occasional blackjack table.  Blackjack!  Surely I am not the first person to see the tourist appeal for poker in Deadwood. There could be a side prize for anyone holding Aces & Eights- perhaps a bullet inscribed with Hickok’s name or something like that.

 

Oh yeah, and there’s an admission fee to see Wild Bill’s grave.  That’s right, they charge you to enter the CEMETERY. Lame.  Give it a pass, or if you must go, stay long enough to pick up a couple of postcards (which were actually quite cool, especially the Deadwood 1876 one) and then hit the road.