Vegas Before Vegas: Arlington's Secret Casino

The episode explores the property’s evolution from a bustling gambling destination to a place marked by hidden tunnels, high‑profile guests and federal raids before becoming the campus of Arlington Baptist University.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Arlington Archives, the podcast that dives deep into the stories that shaped the American Dream city is ironic and celebrates 150 years of history and progress. We're bringing you the voices and legacies that make this city a cornerstone of Texas and a proud part of America's story. I'm your host. OK Carter. And this esteemed scholar to my left and historian is today's co-host, Vickie Bryant. She's the world's greatest expert on the history of gambling in Arlington and also the creator and director of one of the region's most fascinating historical landmarks, the Top O’ Hill Terrace Museum at Arlington Baptist University. Welcome to the podcast, Vickie. Thank you. It's good to be here. Stick around through all the podcast about arcane, and you become an expert on this city's colorful history. Let's get started. Okay, so now if you're the world's greatest expert on gambling in Arlington, who would be runner up? Let me think. I think it would be you. Oh, well, thank you. I had to work on that one for you. Okay. There are, when it comes to gambling in Arlington, there are two primary focuses, and I want to talk a little bit. First about Arlington Downs racetrack. And then there's your particular gig. The top of the Hill terrace casino. Okay, now. W.T. Waggoner. William Thomas Waggoner was a rancher or man, banker and one of Texas's most influential horsemen, who left an indelible mark on the state's sporting and cultural landscape through his creation of Arlington Downs. He was a lifelong breeder and enthusiast of Thoroughbred racing, so Waggoner envisioned a world class facility that would elevate Texas horse racing to national prominence in 1929. He brought that vision to life, investing 2 million bucks to build Arlington Downs on his expansive 3D stock farm in Arlington. That would be about 40 million bucks in today's dollars. The track was right on the Bankhead Highway Division Street and also a short two blocks away from the interurban electric trolley. Okay, so Waggoner was the first big investor, but not the last to figure out how convenient of location Arlington was to Dallas-Fort worth and all of North Texas. The racetrack was more than a business venture. It was a statement of ambition. Designed as a luxury venue with a grandstand, clubhouse, landscaped grounds and hundreds of horse stalls, Arlington Downs quickly became the premier racing destination in Texas. Although construction had begun in 1927 by its opening and in 1929, the facility drew enormous crowds, hundreds of thousands, according to contemporary accounts that came from both the spectacle of horse racing and the promise of a modern entertainment venue. Now, Waggoner’s influence extended beyond architecture and breeding. He was a driving force behind the legalization of paramutual betting in Texas, lobbying alongside his sons to secure legislative approval. In 1933, that approval for Pari mutuel betting. Their success transformed Arlington Downs into a thriving enterprise, with daily profits soaring and attendance booming. As successful it was, it was short lived. Waggoner himself died in 1934, just as a track reached its peak, and the repeal of paramutual betting in 1937 ended the racetracks golden era. As successful as it was, we were in a depression, and all kinds of people oppose betting. We're going to find out who's the main. One of those was in a second. And still Arlington Downs remains a testament to Waggoner's vision. It was an ambitious blend of sports spectacle and civic pride that shaped Arlington identity as a regional entertainment hub. And now get back to you, Mrs. Bryant. So. Let's get back to what happened to, the top of the hill casino was created. because the horse racing took place during the day. And we have. So that leaves lots of big spenders around with plenty of money to spend at night. So I'm going to let you pick up on the history of that. Okay. They would travel down the Bankhead Highway, come to the top of the hill where they could gamble, and I understand, there was no charge for the food there. And, as probably the only place to gamble in the area at that time. Yeah, that, that kind of venue. So, who would have been, our main instigators of this top of the Hill casino, by the way, although horse racing and betting on horses was legal, the top of hill and never was. Well, Fred Browning, kind of passed himself off as a plumber, but he was busy behind the scenes, with, casinos and Houston, Oklahoma. And he had some, gaming operations in Fort Worth. It was a partnership, and not all at the same time. did not know this until we talked earlier before the show, because I had always read that he just ran this sort of mobile moving card games in various hotels or Fort Worth. I didn't know that he had a history of, putting together gambling endeavors in places like Houston and Oklahoma. Right. And both of those places, were raided by the Texas Rangers. So I found it, kind of odd that he was brave enough to establish top of the Hill after, being raided a couple of times by the Texas Rangers already. But he established top of the hill. Yeah. I think, you're going to give us a little bit more history. History about it, about how the top of Hill came to being. But I think it's a it's kind of clear in hindsight that there's no way that you can operate an illegal casino, in a place like Arlington, the Tarrant County, without the, I guess the considerable, looking the other way by assorted political figures. It just it just can't happen. But it's a that's a long time ago now, so we'll never know who those assorted political figures were. But that's kind of the way things were done. And also, keep in mind, we're in the middle of the depression. And so despite that, Fred, Browning creates this sort of booming endeavor. Can you give me a little history on how he came to be at his current location? And what's there now? Well, it started out as a tea room. Abula Marshall opened it. And, I when Fred wanted his own place, he, purchased it from her Yeah, several, what, 27, 26, I think he started purchasing portions of the property. And, by 1930, 31, I think he was probably operating then. Yeah. I think he assumed from the get go that Waggoner would be successful with his, horse racing endeavors. Why is it called Top O Hill? Because the tea room was called Top of Hill yeah. But, I mean, there's a there's a geographic if people there's a you can go tour the facility by appointment. But if you go up there, you're on top of a very high bluff. I don't know if it's the highest point in Arlington, but it's got to be close. by one of the highest points I say I would say second highest. Yeah. So if you look, West, particularly after the sun goes down, you have this sort of great landscape, of, of Fort Worth. Okay. So he bought basically a tearoom right. and, I'm told that he literally moved the house and built an underground casino there. He did tell me about it. Well, when he moved down the first, at first he had gambling. He would put up his bedroom furniture at night, pull out the gambling equipment, and then gamble in his bedroom. And then he decided, to move the house and put in the basement and move the house back over. And that's where most of the gambling took place. And he had a mid floor over the top of the casino, where he had people stationed there who could look through air vents down onto the gaming tables to make sure, no, no one was cheating. And, on the main floor, he had people standing behind two way mirrors too. So it was like a eye in the sky. Yeah. Your, your place has pretty good security. I mean, you have the. If you drive down that. What's that address, by the way? 3001 West Division. 3001 West Division. So, at the time, that would have been outside the city limits and not in the city limits either. So so you're out in the county area? And he had pretty good security. Did he not? He did. He had that, front gate with a guard tower and, when people pulled up there, someone would come out of the tower and open up the gate and, let him through. But if they thought a raid was taking place that calmly grabbed the other side and step on this golf tee like things sticking up out of the ground, and the police thought that was, releasing the gate that was hanging off an alarm. So he Right. Yeah. It's about, what, 300 yards from the gate to the, actual casino. Right. It's 900ft. that. Well, that would be 300. Yeah. Is that right? Yeah, 300 yards. There you go. So, by the way, I think it's funny. Is it, there's Fred Browning. And at some point in this endeavor, we get another famous gambler involved with that, which would be Benny the Cowboy. Binion. Correct. Can you tell me a little bit about Benny? Well, he was there so much, And sometimes they spent the night there. Somebody told me that they thought he was winning back money for Fred Browning, and he even spent the night in the horse barn in the loft Yeah. He's world class poker player, by the way. And later on, he'll take his money that he makes from the top of the hill and goes, opens the horseshoe. But, you're really not much way around it. Binion is, and, his relatives out there will have to excuse me, he's a gangster, you know, he's, been up on murder charges. He's a rough guy. I never could figure out if he horned his way into the enterprise or if Fred Browning just needed some muscle in there that people would respect. Because that's the kind of operation that all kinds of people would, try to take over if you give him a chance. So, yeah, he said both he wanted to part of the action and part of it's not. Okay. So I did get a call from his son. Did you, did you? Because you badmouthed this daddy or. No, I don't. I'm careful what I, say and do because I can put my life in danger. I gotcha. Well, the Binion's are pretty famous. I think most of their they're still involved in the gambling industry, but I think it's mostly in Louisiana now. Is it not? Yeah, I think they've sort of left. Left Vegas. Okay, so tell me what the casino was like. It's. And, you years ago, you showed me the casino, but then was the lunch room for the university, for a Baptist, Arlington Baptist University. So. But originally it was all underground. And, if there was a raid and there were a couple, a couple of three, about seven. raids. So it wasn't like they didn't, I always felt like they probably knew when the raids were coming, for the most part, except for maybe the last one. So, what happens when you have a raid? They would, start running out the escape tunnels and when you have more than one, documentation of that, and they would run up in the tea garden where they had food Yeah, planted. yeah. If you're if you're a encouraged me if you're there and you go in the door, you, you walk, immediately behind you when you walk in the door, the back door of, of, the administration building is the is a terrace area. Yeah. And, kind of a terrace and, you can sort of go out to tunnel and then going up to the terrace and then by the time the, the, John dorms show up, everybody's up there sipping tea. The by the way, when did prohibition end? 33. Yeah. Initially, you know, you got free from booze there as well. they had a big celebration Yeah. Top O Hill, to celebrate the repeal of prohibition, and a hundred people attended there. And, I do have documented Jack Dempsey was one of them. Yeah, there are been an incredible number of, celebrity people who both came to gamble there and who entertained there over the years. I never could forget where this entertainment took place. So Most of it on that the tea garden on that, So, so outdoor kind of stuff, That's when it rained, they had to go downstairs and the casino and they said, it's really crowded to do that. Yeah, I bet you so. I know you got John Wayne, Jack Dempsey, you know, Ginger Rogers. There's a lot of, high level celebrities. Plus, the Texas experience quite the oil boom at the time. And you have lots and lots of really new millionaire. oilmen. And, with a taste for gambling that they don't want to go to Vegas. Really? Vegas doesn't really exist as we think of it at the time. In fact, that, I've heard it said that that, Arlington, at least in that era, was in Vegas before Vegas was I agree. yeah, okay. So you've got the casino down there, there's a raid, but it's, it's not that. It's like. It's not like the cops show up and there are roulette wheels to crash, and there are, there are poker tables. They've got a way to, hide way all that stuff. Do they not like that It was, I guess you'd call it high tech for back then. They would, they had gaming tables. They would fold up into the wall and they had paintings Yeah, blended in. But the freestanding gaming tables, they would flip them Yeah. before plates attach for glasses, for knives, forks and spoons. And then they had a Q stick rack, which was fake. And they could put a key in the electrical socket and turn it, and it would release the rack to reveal a secret room. Or they could push a gambling equipment and shut it up. okay let's get back. Let's talk about you you created basically a museum there. Originally I know your husband's, is a former president. What was then Arlington Baptist College? And you were the librarian, Bookstore manager . I was the bookstore manager. Okay. Now, originally when you create the museum, you were doing it not so much to a member of memorialize, gambling, but because, you were interested in another historical figure, the, the one and only, Reverend J. Wright. Norris. Right? That's correct. Tell us a little bit about Jay Frank Norris, and we'll we'll, the story of how this illegal casino ends up being a Baptist university is kind of an interesting one. Tell me, tell us a little bit about J. Frank Norris, Wood, J. Frank Norris, pastored First Baptist of, Fort Worth, and his time began. There's a minister, 1909. And, because he grew up in, alcoholic home, he was really, against the drinking and, the gambling and all that. And so he started trying to clean up Tarrant County. And even the Methodist ministers joined in with the Baptists in that endeavor, we had this fundamentalist Baptist church in, in Fort Worth, and. Well, Reverend Norris is like, he's sort of slipped from our consciousness now, but he's like Elmer Gantry. He's like Billy Sunday. He's like, Billy Graham before Billy Graham. He's got a nationally syndicated, radio show, so. And, and he's conducting revivals all over the place, but he's got a pretty familiar target for many of those sermons. Does he not? Top of the hill. Top of the hill Terrace Casino. Yeah. He's constantly he's he's calls it the blight of Tarrant County. He's constantly, writing about it, constantly, chiding, elected officials to do something about it. He's calling the governor. He's giving sermons about it. Yet somehow, it, perseveres. In fact, at one point, he does it in that he says literally, someday they'll, take over the top of the hill. Those who not. At a tent meeting, he vowed he he said top of the hill terrace is a blight on Tarrant County. One of these days I’m gonna own the place. Yeah. And that was, that would essentially be like a hollow threat back then. So, we open there, we open the terrace in the late 20s. It operates all the way through the 30s. In fact, it operates long, long after Arlington Downs is gone as a racetrack, anyway and really keeps operating, what, until around 1949? Until finally, the Texas Rangers raided one last time. The big raid was in 1947, led by. Lone Wolf Gonzalez. I found it interested. He raided. one of, Fred's other casinos. I think the one in Houston. Lone Wolf was involved in that one, too. Yeah. And I think they finally shut it down for good. Because people were afraid to come back. Yeah. Yeah. Not what ran in 1949. They finally just sort of gave it up, Fred Browning goes away. I don't know if when he finally died early 50s by 53 and then, but Binion takes his money that he has there and goes to Vegas, opens the horseshoe. And it had a fairly prosperous life, except for some IRS problems. I understand silver bars from Top Of Hill to Las Vegas. I got you so. But. And J. Frank Norris himself. He's not around much longer after Browning either, is he He died before Fred. He died in 52. Fred died in 53. So what? So you've got this basically casino closed down. What happens to it and how does, the Fundamentalist Baptist Institute of J. Frank Norris acquired? Well, they, they were looking for a permanent home. And, Doctor Oldham, who was president of the Bible Baptist Seminary, which it originally was called Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute, which Doctor Norris started? It so Doctor Oldham was president at the time, and he was driving by the front gates just there, hammering the first sell sign in the ground to sell the properties. So he immediately raised the down payment. And, and so the seminary moved then. Yeah. At the time, the church is not really a college, is it? It's missionary training. The seminary was a seminary, so it's most mostly training for people who are going to go into the ministry, but they buy it anyway. By the way, one of those ministers, they're trained is, is a pretty famous alumni. You you want to guess who that is? John John Birch, the namesake for the John Birch Society was, trained out there. So they buy it. They make good. But then, Reverend Norris is what deceased are about to be. But he's he's gone. he died in 53 with his prediction came true in 56 when we you bought it. And how long did it take to become Arlington Baptist College? I know it's Arlington Baptist University now. If became Arlington Baptist College in 1972. took a while. Took a while. Okay, so we have that, and then eventually you show up and you're running the bookstore and you're sort of moderately interested in the gambling thing, but you're as initially, your focus is really more on J. Frank Norris and the history of the of the church is it not? We have to remember, I was the pastor's wife correct Yeah. For many years when my husband and I went to the, Bible Bab Arlington Baptist College. And, so my, I just start out, with recording the history of the school. I didn't touch top of the hill at all I know. because most baptist don’t gamble. you had the in those days, they had those recorded radio broadcasts on this giant sort of. They looked like LP records, but it's like a giant, recording of this. And you have the world's largest collection of, J. Frank Norris's, radio sermons, and he's syndicated. Is he not? well, we have 350 of those big 16 inch records with a lot of his sermons Yeah. I got so you you start with it and you're eventually and I think you have the cornerstone, don't you? Somewhere out there for his original, his original church in in, in Fort Worth. But then. You're a curious person. And you see little hints of the. College's former life, here and there. And you sort of began collecting a few items, not a few items at first. And then more and more, how did that, how did that how did you make the transition to sort of a combined history of the fundamentalist? Institute and of the of the, gambling? well, the school was closed mouth almost 50 years. And yeah, it was something they didn't want to talk about. Was it? Yeah. students weren't allowed to talk about it at all. And, so when I found this fundamentalist tear from, 1934, which Doctor Norris started that in 1927? this is their this is their publication now, the newspaper was I. Yeah. The the biggest giant on there just got top of Hill terrace on there that I went to my husband's office, put that on his desk. I said, I want to work on this. And I figured he was going to tell me no. He said, go ahead. And it was a scary thing, being closed mouth 50 years and all of a sudden I'm going to step out, start to bring it into the light, you know? Okay. So what did you find first? I know it started off as a very small collection, two poker chips. I found a dog collar and right here it is. It's one of my favorite things of the collection. And it even has Fred Browning's, like, just in case the dog gets lost. And that would have been a pretty good sized dog wouldn’t it? that these spikes were here For two reasons. That way you couldn't get the dog down and choked to death. And when dogs fight, they go for the neck. So Doctor Oldham wanted to throw everything away when the seminary moved in. But for some reason, he saved this. And when my husband moved in as president 1993, he handed over to him like it was a torch. So I, I love this dog collar. I gotcha. So, by the way, am. Top O Hill is kind of a Six Flags of sin kind of place. Not only do you have drinking, not only do you have the excessive dining, not only do you have some risque entertainment. Yeah, I know that. But you also have a a brothel on, on on side there. In fact, you have a, you have a little you have a shaw there from one of the ladies of the evening, do you not? Yes. When the school moved and they need, dorm space for the girls. So they were getting ready to turn the brothel into the girls dorm. So Doctor Oldham took his wife up to the brothel, kicked it all the beautiful gowns. And he said, I want everything thrown away, which she threw everything away but two items. She kept the mirror on the wall. And she kept this cape from Neiman Marcus. And, it's my favorite thing of the whole collection she wore to church. And I tell everyone, I don't know of another Baptist institution that has the prostitutes like but I felt like it was okay to do that. Since she went to church, it's been sanctified. I guess if you say so, Mrs. Bryant. If you say so. Now over time, the, preponderance of the collections as you've started this museum, people have brought you more and more items, have they not? And so what have you what's it like now? Originally the first time I went out to see you, the museum was occupied. Kind of a little corner there, but it it takes up pretty much most of the bookstore. Not as or not. It's up there when I start, it's about, what, two thirds top a hill, one third. But fundamentalist, something like that Probably the opposite. Yeah, it's two thirds. Fundamentalist one third, top of hill. Okay. But when I started collecting things, I didn't dream it would turn into what it is today. Yeah, I know now you got people coming from all over the state. Yeah. Bus tours. Yeah. So they're coming from all over, and it's and, you're you're getting Yelp reviews, all kinds of stuff. What's in the collection now? Give me the top 2 or 3. Your top 2 or 3 favorite items, from the casino years and also from the fundamentalist Baptist years, even though no one was supposed to save anything. And I'm talking about the seminary and, people that were out there, they did. And it's like it's all coming back home. We have, the card dealers flapper dress. The card dealers wives flapper dress on display. And we have, a dress from one of the Ruth Laird's Texas rockets, one of the tap dancers that came out. Ballerinas. We have her dress there, and, we have a choir, two roulette wells. yeah, you gave me a poker chip years ago, so I still have five bucks. right? I tell people, don't. If I give them a poker chip, please don't tell him that a pastor's wife gave you one. okay, So you just spilled the beans there. Yeah. So, how do we how do people arrange for tours out there? They just, call or email, me and tours a by appointment. So Yeah. We'll, we'll run it as a scan at the end of the program here so that people can give you can give you a bus. I know, do you have an heir apparent? We got a friend. You're, you and I are not getting any younger, so now you got to find somebody to run the museum after. After you've, retired. Finally. Finally. Yes. We do, UTA has got involved and they started scanning the documents, scanning the artifacts. They've done the oral history interview, and now they're finishing up the interviews for a documentary. Yeah. Supposed to be a video coming up pretty soon, is there not. it's important. And they're going to, film my program. So after I'm gone, a volunteer can be there to walk them around. And I told someone when they were talking about filming my program, I said, I don't want to be in it, but I want it to be me telling the story, because meeting these people does something to your heart. And I've even, you know, done the interview with the gangster from top of the Hill. And when he died, we were real close. Yeah. You've you've met a lot of people, I guess over the years, the hundreds, thousands of people who were there. And so you've collected some, I guess, some oral histories as well for this sort of thing. collected many and, I interviewed, Gaither Hartley. His dad was work with the tea room and stayed on with the casino. And his dad told him that the place was riddled full of tunnels from the prohibition era. Said after that, they turned them into escape tunnels. So we have this underground system, and I hope before I die, find them all to prove once and for all that you had more than. Yeah. Sit by. The rumor is, by the way, that, Fred took his extra cash, and and jewels and other materials and stashed them in a cave. And, our eternal a hidden tunnel, under the casino. So you haven't you you haven't found that. And. I'm not allowed to talk Okay. So. Well, if you find it, let us know. It'd be great Well, it'd be on the news. Trust Bet you I know you're still looking for it. And I have a feeling by the way, when been. When Binion left for Vegas or whatever cash there was, he probably took it with him. So I got you, wanted to. Yeah, you got Jay Frank Norris's actual Bible. There. Well, he's. It in there, to tell us the story, and I almost I tear up almost every time I start And, it's still emotional to you. I've. I've been to a couple of three of your talks. It's it's worth it catching to do that. There are a couple of oddities about the place. One of them is, Binion and Fred were big horse racing connoisseurs, and they had a favorite horse there. And, let's just tell us about that in a second. And, also, they had a boxer, like a world champion boxer that trained there, and he like to train in the pool. Can you tell us a little bit about the horse and about the boxing? Okay, Fred was interested in three things. It was gambling, horse racing and boxing and he had his own boxer there. His name was Lou Jenkins. He was known as the sweet squatter from Sweetwater from Sweetwater for how they managed come and travel with him all over the United States. He won the world title. He's like light, like middleweight or something like that, that category. So. And he had, Jenkins like to train to water, right. So he had a pool, that they could swim in the player, which is still a proper indoor pool. Okay, so we have top of the hill structures that we have the front gates, we have the tea garden and the gazebo, we have the Royal Ford stable and that horse Royal Ford was bread dough horse name can fly there. Follow Hill yeah. 1940 and Red Pollard rode Seabiscuit. He also rode horses for Fred Browning. So Red Pollard had to be out there. A horse stable had 12 stalls, and someone told me that, tunnel came up the third stall from the left. With that, the swimming pool with that, the tunnel that you get to see when you come in for the tour. We just unearthed a room from the casino. So almost all the structures are left from top of the hill days, except for the brothel and the upper floor of the house. So the mid floor and basement of the Administration Building and Arlington Baptist University are the original, walls of the casino. I think a base. When you go in, you think, well, I'll see a statue of Fred Browning and I'll see a statue of you, but you don't. Do you see a statue of Doctor J. Frank Norris holding a Bible? There's a love it that he is overlooking the drive at the place. He vowed one day we would, And his prediction came true in 1956, when we purchased property, Okay. Thank you for Vicky for so much for being here. And thanks to you for listening. To Arlington Archives. If you want to learn more, take a museum tour. We'll, we'll post. We'll have a link. Be sure to subscribe and share this podcast for more stories, historical photos, and ways to get involved in Arlington's 150th anniversary, visit Arlington 150.com and follow@CityofArlington on social media. And till next time, let's keep honoring our past and pave the way for what's next. The story of Arlington is still being written and you are part of it. So long.