When Port Aransas Had Casinos By Mary Craft To tell the history of the Wilson and Nelson families in Port Aransas is to tell the history of Port Aransas. The two families are among the oldest in the town and the forebears of the current family members have a varied and colorful past that paints a vivid picture of life in Port Aransas in the century just passed. We recently sat down with Peggy Nelson who lived in Port A from 1940 until 1980 to get a living history. Down at the Balinese Travis Wilson was a plumber and sheet metal worker in Fort Worth as was his father before him. When the Depression hit he did what he had to in order to
celebrities of the time. Entertainment was provided by popular entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. The gambling part of the facility was at the end of the pier to provide time to hide the evidence before the Texas Rangers got there. Stories of the Balinese echoed down the years all the way through the 1970’s when that Little Old Band from Texas, ZZ Top immortalized it in their song Down at the Balinese. When there was a raid, gaming tables were changed to backgammon tables and slot machines were folded up into the walls like Murphy beds. To give extra time for the change, the band near the entrance would play “The Eyes of Texas” to announce the Rangers arrival
Balinese Room on the Galveston sea wall was a popular destination for Hollywood stars in the 40’s. Around 1950 they moved their partying to Las Vegas where the gambling was legal. support his family and went to Galveston to work for “Big” Sam Mateo and his brother. The Sicilian brothers started out as barbers in their teens but found a career in bootlegging and gambling to be more financially rewarding. They eventually created a gambling empire with many illegal casinos on and near the seawall in that city. It was there Travis learned how to operate a gambling establishment and he used that experience in his own gaming rooms when he later opened shop in Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. Big Sam opened a casino on the seawall in 1929 that became so popular that a 600-foot pier was added and the name changed to the exotic Balinese Room in 1942. It was a popular Hollywood star destination for Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Sophie Tucker and other
and the patriotic patrons would stand at attention restricting access to the back casino along with a series of glass doors the Rangers had to negotiate to get to the gambling area. One of Travis’ duties for Big Sam was to travel to Mexico to buy liquor. The Island was a natural It was a big job to quench the thirst of all those dry gamblers. Travis would go to Mexico to buy liquor for the casinos and on a trip there he met Maurine, his soon to be wife, at a supper club. She was a Denton graduate with a degree in Education and had taught for a while before getting a position as an assistant to Wilson Continued PA 3
Port Aransas Happenings Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series Listen to speakers on interesting topics at the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. Come and bring a lunch, if you would like, every Wednesday at noon through the middle of March at the Pollock Center at 129 S. Alister St. in Port Aransas, and enjoy learning about different topics as you eat. The series is a joint effort between the City of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department and the Joint Effort Leisure Ministry (JELM). Anyone of any age is invited to attend. Donations are accepted to help the JELM Center with utilities for the Pollock Center. Up next are : Jan. 20 – John Metz-NOAA, Weather Outlook for this upcoming Spring and Summer; Jan. 27 – Joyce Williams, Haiti missions [donations collected this day will be sent to earthquake relief in Haiti]; Feb. 3 – Larry & Charlotte Davenport, Quebec Ice Hotel & Dog Sled and Feb. 10 – Lu Ann Ferguson & Randy Johns, U.S. Air Traffic Control System. For more information, contact Parks and Recreation Community Program Coordinator Pam Greene at 749-4158 or pamg@cityofportaransas.org Meditation/Relaxation Class Every other Thursday evening you can learn how to handle everything life throws at you during a free Meditation/Relaxation Class. The next class is January 21st. The class is a City of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department event. It is held at 6:30pm, in the Port Aransas Girl Scout hut, 739 W. Ave. A, now while weather is bad. It will resume in the Roberts Point Park small pavilion when weather permits. Rebecca Haworth of Rockport shares the teachings of yoga she has practiced for more than 15 years. No physical movement is required…this are mind centering techniques good for people of any age. For more information, contact Parks and Recreation Community Program Coordinator Pam Greene at 749-4158 or pamg@cityofportaransas.org Beach Walk
Just what is on the beach in Port Aransas? Find out at a free guided beach walk courtesy of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department. The next walk is set for Friday, January 22nd, 9 a.m. Meet guide Shirley Fischer on the beach under the purple flag near Horace Coldwell Pier at the end of Beach Street. Bring something to collect your great “finds”. Port Aransas Sand Slam Poetry Slam Series Celebrate performance poetry with a good laugh or cry during the next Port Aransas Sand Slam poetry competition. The January 22nd competition will be held at the Tarpon Ice House, 321 N. Alister St. in Port Aransas. You don’t have to know anything about poetry, just have an open mind. This poetry competition is held the 4th Friday of each month. Competitors and poetry lovers are needed to make each event a success. Poetry selections range from fluff to extremely serious, hilarious to heartbreaking, and always promise a night of entertainment Port A style. Sign up for the competition and the open mic is at 7:30 pm. The evening begins at 8 pm with an open mic session where anyone may read or recite his/her own or anyone else’s poetry of any kind. The competition starts after the open mic with 3 rounds of competition. The presenter must use poetry he or she has written. Music may be integrated into the presentation. Competitors in the poetry slam should bring at least 3 original pieces to perform. Competitors will be judged by five members of the audience from 1.0 to 10.0 with the highest and lowest scores dropped to eliminate friends and enemies, then the other 3 scores are added for a total each round. The highest scorers make it to the last round to compete for the grand prize gift certificate and sometimes money too! Happenings Continued PA 4