Chicago’s Game of Chance and the Girls Who Kept Score
In the opening chapter of A Girl Like You, young Henrietta Von Harmon works as a “26 Girl” at a corner tavern, Poor Pete’s. Though virtually unknown in any other part of the country, 26 was once a very popular pastime across a variety of bars and cigar shops throughout Chicago. Even the exclusive Palmer House and the Playboy Club had 26 tables, and at one point over 5,000 “26 girls” were employed throughout the city to stand prettily at a table and keep score, pushing drinks and often securing tips from the winners. The basic idea behind the game was to roll 10 dice thirteen times in hopes of turning up a pre-designated number, such as sixes, at least 26 times or more. The ante to get in a game was a quarter, the prize for rolling a 26 was usually a free drink on the house.
The game of 26 had a rocky existence spanning its birth in the 1910’s all the way through to the ‘50’s. At different times, city ordinances were passed to attempt to ban 26 games as a form of gambling in connection with the sale of alcohol, but following the end of prohibition, police tended to look the other way, although they reserved the right to close down any bar or game they deemed a “public nuisance,” which the police do on a number of occasions to poor Mr. Hennessey, the owner of Poor Pete’s.
In the 1940’s, the authorities again attempted to rid the city of 26 games when the Illinois Liquor Control Commission tried to shut them down. The Chicago City Corporation Counsel, however, protested, saying that the state did not have jurisdiction over local ordinances.
When World War II broke out, however, 26 girls came under attack for other reasons. In 1945, one newspaper ran a photo of a dice girl with the following caption: “War plants are crying for women workers as well as men. Yanks are gambling with death on battlefields. Yet 26-game dice still roll merrily.”
It was the beginning of the end, really. A game of 26 could still be found into the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, but it was eventually outlawed in 1962 as it had become at times synonymous with the mob, with many 26 girls also doubling as prostitutes.
I have never heard of that before. Very interesting!
Yes! Apparently it was very popular in Chicago.
My grandmother was a 26 girl at a tavern in Chicago. I just found this out from the 1950 federal census. I’m hoping to find out more about it.
That’s so amazing, Jill!!! Do you have the name of the tavern? I’d love to check it out!
I have never heard of this game either, and I have spent most of my adult life in Las Vegas. 🙂
From the research I did, it seems like it was peculiar to the Chicago area. I’ve always been fascinated by regional games!
My mother was a 26 girl in Chicago in the early 1950’s and definently NOT a prostitute! They just hired pretty dice girls to encourage the men to bet their money and buy more drinks. That is how my mother met my father.
Wow, Yvonne!!! I would love to talk to you about your mother’s experience!
My mom was also a 26 girl in Chicago In the late 30s. I wish I had asked her more. My mom was really lovely looking.
Oh, wow, Marie! That is so neat!! Do you have any stories from her about her experience? Would love to hear them! Thanks for reading!!
I own the bar The Hideout and we had 26 girls at the Hideout. Yvonne where did your mother work? Katie Tuten
Hi, Katie! I would love to meet you. I actually discovered The Hideout during my research about 26 girls for the series I write: The Henrietta and Inspector Howard series. After I read the history of The Hideout online, I decided I needed to see this place for myself and showed up one night all the way from Grayslake. Suffice it to say, I was utterly charmed. I then went on to discover Mark Bazer’s The Interview Show, which I was eventually a guest on! We should talk!
My Mother Terry Scott was a dice girl, jazz singer and worked for The Outfit in their clubs in 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. She worked in Cicero at The Turf Club that went up in flames under suspicious circumstances. Check out my FB page The Chicago Secret Keepers. Penning a memoir about my childhood in Chicago
This is fascinating, Robin!! I checked out your FB page – very cool!! Good luck with your memoir, and keep in touch!
My father mentioned Dice Girls several times when he would reminisce about growing up on the North side of Chicago in the 40’s and 50’s. I also did some work back in the early 2000’s for a woman who talked about working as a Dice Girl in one of the bars my father frequented on Granville Ave. in Chicago.
Wow, Linda! Thanks for sharing this! I love these types of stories. I lived near Granville in Rogers Park for about four years – very colorful area. Ha! Thanks for reading and reaching out!
Thanks! So great to find a little bit of information on the Dice Girls. Rogers Park is great! I grew up there in the 60’s and 70’s, and my dad lived there most of his life- from 1943, to 2018 when he passed. We have lots of family memories from that neighborhood.
Wow! That is so neat, Linda! I love Rogers Park, too. So much history. I’m sure your dad had some great stories!
I grew up in Chicago and attended Northwestern University. There were bars along Howard St. as Evanston was “dry” then. There were 26 girls at different places from time to time. A simple examination of the odds tells you that winning will be difficult. But after a couple of beers you get up your nerve and give it a try. I think I got one “free” drink once. Of course the more outgoing the 26 girl’s personality was the better her business would be. The old days.
Wow, Tom!! Thanks for this. Would love to hear more about your experience. I used to live very near Howard Street. Thanks for sharing! And yes…the old days. Sigh.
My Aunt Loretta was a 26 girl. Definitely about the dice and getting folks to buy drinks. She was a real knockout back in the day.
Oh, wow, Stacy!!! This is so neat. She sounds like the main character of my series, Henrietta, who was based on a real woman. I met her in a nursing home, and she described herself as once upon a time, having a “man-stopping body and a personality to go with it.” Ha! She was apparently a real bombshell, just like your aunt. Thanks for sharing…!
My grandma was a 26 girl and was always rumored to be a little…sketchy.
So interesting, Lynn! When I was researching this book and what a 26 girl was, I found that, too. Not a respectable profession… LOL. I bet your grandma had great stories!
I just ran across this excellent explanation while trying to figure out what a “26” girl was; something listed as an occupation in my family’s census! My relative’s neighbor was Bessie Howe, a married woman, with that occupation!
Hi, Lori!! I’m so glad you found it useful! I love these old things from the past, don’t you?
According to the 1940 census my grandmother Betty’s occupation was listed as a Dice girl working in a tavern in Chicago.
It was rumored she was a prostitute.She also worked as a dancer in the Earl Edward’s Show in a carnival in Chicago during the 30’s. Not a great time back then one would surmise. Imagine my relief to find her death certificate lists her occupation as a bookkeeper.
This is fascinating, Kathy!!! Thank you so much for sharing. Your grandmother’s story sounds so similar to that of my main character, Henrietta, in my Henrietta and Inspector Howard books, which are set in the 1930s in Chicago. What’s even more interesting is that I based Henrietta on a real woman whom I met in a nursing home. She had a ton of shady jobs, such as being a 26-girl, taxi dancer, waitress, curler-girl at Marshall Fields, an usherette in a burlesque theater, and a “dutch girl” at the Chicago World’s fair. Wouldn’t it be neat if she and your grandmother once upon a time crossed paths? Thanks for reading!
Thank you for this article! My niece found her paternal grandmother in the census in Chicago and her occupation was listed as dice girl. Loved the article and the comments!
Thanks for reaching out, Robin, and for taking the time to read this little story. So interesting that a person’s occupation could be listed as “dice girl.” I find these details fascinating. Thanks for sharing!!
My mother and her sister were both 26 girls on the southwest side of Chicago in late 30s and early 40s.
I never thought to ask what tavern they worked at.
Oh, my gosh, Barbara!! I love hearing stories like this!! I would have LOVED to talk with them about their experiences. Thank you so much for reaching out!
My great aunt Hope was a 26 girl on Rush Street. She met her husband, Hershel, there. Then they moved to Iowa.
Oooh!! I love this, Cindy! Thanks for sharing!!
Strangely enough, I just read your article since I was doing research about dice girls. I was also exploring information on my aunt and father’s family. I know they knew Al Capone…in a good way…though both have passed away. My Aunt was friends with Ralph Capone in her teenage years. I just learned online that she was a dice girl in 1935. She was married to her husband at the time and he was a supervisor of a warehouse
Wow! Thanks for sharing this, Karla! I find stories like yours so very fascinating. I bet your aunt could have written a very interesting book between knowing the Capones and working as a 26 girl!
I ran across a reference to “26 girls” in The Man With The Golden Arm. Had never heard the term before. Googled it and here you are with the answer! One of the challenges of the book is a lot of antiquated slang and I suspect a lot, like “26 girls”, is also very local. Many thanks for the fascinating slice of Chicago lore. More fun in the comments as well. Greetings from NYC!
Hi, Peter! Thanks so much for reaching out. It’s nice to know that Google is doing it’s job and popping my blog up. LOL. I’m so glad you found the blog useful and entertaining! Hope you’ll stick around. Cheers!
My Great Grand Aunt was a dice game girl in the 50’s in Chicago. I have a few photos of her in what I believe are her costumes/get-ups for the lounge she worked at. She was gorgeous. My father always said she was a prostitute, with no disrespect, but that it was just known to the family. Other things “known” to the family were that my GG Grandmother, whom she lived with, ran a “boarding” house and it was a connection to said prostitution. I am only beginning to follow the trail, trying to determine my father’s father through these connections of my family and their “acquaintances” in Chicago during the early 50’s. Anyone interested in collaborating please feel free to email me at janie at foxfiresky dot com.
What an incredible story, Janie! This is fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing!! I love stories like this (obviously!), and I wish you luck trying to uncover more about your great, great aunt!!