Colonial Gambling

Apple-Pie American and Older than the Mayflower


  • A greedy hand swoops down for the next roll.

  • Luck's potential is cradled in the gambler's palm.

  • Archaeology at Jamestown confirms that the clatter of dice is a sound as old as America.

  • Interpreter Daniel Cross is unfazed by the hour, charged with the energy of risk and confidence.

  • Chance favors interpreter Tom Hay, putting coins in his pockets and apples in his cheeks.

  • That which can be gained and that which can be lost mingles in the moment before a play.

  • Spirits rise high as glasses run low for Colonial Williamsburg interpreters at cards.

  • Interpreter John Hamant demonstrates what an early poker face may have looked like.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation © 2007