Sorry, but these two groups really fit together. Not every gambler was a pimp... or vice-versa, but many of the West's famous gamblers were strongly associated with prostitutes and even ran brothels... the Earp brothers being the most famous of this type.
There was a type of Westerner, rarely acknowledged, of an all-purpose businessman... who might run a brothel, or gambling house, or a saloon, or all three... while acting as city marshal...******* the Earps were devoted to the gambling trade, especially Wyatt, who came to Tombstone to set up a gambling house. His brother Jim had been in the trade for years. Both had run brothels. And several of these "sporting men" also married prostitutes- who seemed to continue to practice their trade after they said their "vows."
To say it was all grown up and quite complicated is charitable. It was just plain low life. Wyatt Earp left one former prostitute to consort with Josie, a lewd dancer... who was dating the County Sheriff, who hated him and tried to arrest him... Wyatt eventually gave up his gambling to be a Deputy U. S. Marshal so he could put the whoop-ass on his enemies. He supposedly killed a half-dozen of them... without due process. And Hollywood made him out to be a good guy who just lost his patience with the system... Wyatt Earp was never part of any system. More on him in the Lawmen page.
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