Poker flourished in the Old West and gunslinging card players have become legendary with western terms littering the poker lexicon. Players like Wild Bill Hickok and Doc Holliday have been featured in numerous film and television shows throughout the years, with Hickok even being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
A bit of the game’s frontier roots was on full display this week with the announcement that a Wyoming Ranch once lost in a poker game is now on sale for $58 million. The 118-acre Grand View River Ranch is located at the foot of Grand Teton National Park and features expansive views of the surrounding mountains with a brilliant natural setting among rivers, streams, forests, meadows, and more.
“Grand View has operated as a dude ranch since 1986,” Buckrail.com notes. “More than 20 buildings stand on the ranch, including barns, cabins, lodges, and bunk housing totaling 19 guest bedrooms and 17 owner/staff bedrooms.”
Ranch In The Poker Pot
Along with offering a nearly unmatched outdoors experience, Grand View also features quite an interesting background involving poker. The property was originally homesteaded in 1910 and changed hands a few times before being sold to John Barnes.
Barnes used the ranch as a hunting camp, but apparently was a bit of a card player as well. In 1944, a cowboy working on another nearby property named Claude Wham is said to have won the ranch in a not-so-friendly game of poker.
That’s quite the pot! Wham owned the ranch through 1959, ultimately selling the compound to his former employers, the Chambers family.
Views of the ranch and surrounding area are a bit reminiscent of the Yellowstone television – minus the drama. The Gros Ventre River runs right through the property, and guests have a chance to reel in some trout or saddle up for some horseback riding.
Echoing a bit of Grand View’s poker history, the ranch’s sales website calls the property a “Royal Flush… untrammeled by the world around, yet in the center of the iconic American West. Indulge in the ultimate legacy opportunity at Grand View River Ranch, an extraordinary jewel nestled in the prestigious enclave of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.”
The hefty price tag is currently the highest in the state. Perhaps a poker game might fittingly be on the menu for the future owners and guests.
*Photos from MLS – David NeVille
