Why we honor Henry Clay

Casinos have finally come to our state.

It is just too bad that Pottsville doesn’t get a piece of the action, as the city has a long love affair with gambling, legal and illegal.

We all have fond remembrance of lotteries, chances, and the slots of years ago. Does anyone remember that in the 1960s and 1970s the city’s downtown had several stores selling only a few items, generally one box of Corn Flakes and a few packs of Black Jack chewing gum? That marketing technique defied all rules of business investments. It was an example of pure micro-economics - more basic than a child’s lemonade stand. It turned my notion of “supply and demand” inside out. Any business built around a single box of Corn Flakes should fold in a matter of days, if not hours, especially if your employee did not yet have breakfast. However, these City stores were successful. What would Adam Smith, of laissez faire capitalism fame, say? Surely, Mr. Smith would be smart enough to figure out that gambling was the draw - not the merchandise. But it took me a few years to figure this out. Why, the box of Corn Flakes in the window was merely a front! Boy, was I duped! People wanted to place a bet, not buy stale Corn Flakes or Black Jack gum.
Historians believe that the local passion for gambling went much further back in time than the 1930s when Minersville Street was flourishing. In fact, the early Native American settlements near the Gordon Nagle Trail bear this out. When the Pottsville Soccer fields were built, uncovered remnants of primitive Leni Lenape high stakes bingo halls were found. The Lenapes did not call it “Bingo” back then, but rather “Mahantongo.” The game took much longer and it's popularity faded due to the difficulty of having the duplicate letters a and o on the playing card.

Then came the era of the Schuylkill Canal. I understand gambling proliferated up and down the River and the canal beds during the mid- 1800s. The riverboats offered its passengers elegant accommodations along with many amenities. By day or night there was always some card or roulette game going on in the Upper Deck Saloon or in the Paddlewheel Lounge. For the non-gamblers, the Canal boats offered the usual shore excursions to Port Clinton, dazzling nightlife, reggae bands and, of course, the midnight buffets.

But Pottsville now deserves a legit gambling house because our county seat is the only metropolis having a statue in honor the inventor of Poker. Yes, I am referring to the famous poker card game immortalized by Kenny Rogers in his dreadful song, “The Gambler.” Yes, Henry Clay invented the game of poker as he loved gambling. During the presidential election of 1832 a newspaper wrote that, “Henry Clay spends his days at the gaming tables and his nights in a brothel.” His gambling and drinking made him as famous as did his oratorical skills. Despite once reportedly losing sixty thousand dollars during one card game, most of the time Henry Clay was a winner. This is why Pottsville honors him.
Very few youngsters recognize the identity of the statue that overlooks the downtown. In fact, a majority of high school students recently surveyed assumed the statue to be a likeness of Clay Aiken, the American Idol runner-up. Unbelievable! Nearly all of the high school seniors referred to the statesman as “Henry Dice Clay” or “the Diceman.” What is going on in our schools today! I thought no child was going to be left behind.

Henry Clay was one sharp poker player; having adapted the card game from its European forerunner, Pochen. He is not the Andrew Clay Silverstein that told off color jokes and appeared in such films as The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine, which is now playing at the Majestic Theatre. And he is not the Clay that was beaten by Reuben Studdards on American Idol. He is the card shark “Henry Clay,” former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Every time I drive on South Centre Street towards Henry Clay Park (the steepest park in the world) I look up and admire the man who is holding a royal flush in his right hand. So, the next time you drive downtown to buy Corn Flakes, take a closer look and see the royal flush for yourself. After that, write to the Governor and politely request a piece of the action for dear, old Pottsville, the city that honors the Inventor of Poker.