County of site: Lawrence County
Location of site: Main St., 3rd store front E. of Wall St., north side, Deadwood
"It was here that Wild Bill Hickok was shot by Jack McCall on August 2, 1876. The prior evening when Hickok was playing poker with several men, including McCall, Jack lost heavily. Wild Bill generously gave him back enough money to buy something to eat, but advised him not to play again until he could cover his losses. This obviously humiliated McCall who would take his revenge the next day.
"The next afternoon when Wild Bill entered Nuttall & Mann’s Saloon he found Charlie Rich sitting in his preferred seat. After some hesitation, Wild Bill joined the game, reluctantly seating himself with his back to the door and the bar—a fatal mistake. Jack McCall, drinking heavily at the bar, saw Hickok enter the saloon, taking a seat at his regular table in the corner near the door.
"McCall slowly walked around to the corner of the saloon where Hickok was playing his game. From under his coat, McCall pulled a double-action .45 pistol, shouted “Take that!” and shot Wild Bill Hickok in the back of the head, killing him instantly. Hickok had been holding a pair of eights, and a pair of Aces, which has ever since been known as the “dead man’s hand.”
"The location of the original #10 Saloon was at 624 Main Street, which today is occupied by the Wild West Winners Casino. The original Number Ten saloon burned down in Deadwood’s tragic fire of 1879 and then relocated across the street. In it’s place was built the second I.H. Chase Building in 1898, which housed a clothing store until 1903. When Chase moved out, Frank X. Smith opened a beer hall, which proudly advertised itself as a “metropolitan resort.” Later it housed the Eagle Inn, the sign of which still hangs on the upper portion of the building. Downstairs in the Wild West Casino is an interpretive site that tells visitors all about the curse of the dead man’s hand, and the man who made it famous.
"The Wild West Winners Casino also encompasses the Bullock-Clark Building which is the site of the original Bella Union Theater as well as the Schwarzwald building, which was long used as a furniture store. The Bullock-Clark building was consumed by fire in 1894 and the two parties rebuilt a single structure on their two lots. Later the combined building would be opened up on the lower floor and utilized as an automobile showroom.
"These buildings later served as part of Deadwood’s infamous Green Door District. On the upper levels were the original location of several of Deadwood’s brothels, including Pam’s Purple Door, one of the last to close in Deadwood in 1980. Today, the second story windows are decorated with scantily dressed mannequins, who beckon to the street below, much the real painted ladies of Deadwood’s past once did." ~ Legends of America