'Moon Stakes' Madness Marred by Murder

By Lacy O'Malley, reporter for the Tombstone Epitaph

Cimarron’s ‘Moon Stakes’ poker tournament took a deadly turn when famous gambler Castor Greeley was gunned down outside the Wildheart Saloon by several assailants after the first day of the contest. At the time of his death, Greeley was in top position and heavily favored to win. During the attack, three of the assailants were killed by Greeley’s bodyguards, and later were identified as local hoodlums. The town deputies later captured Morris du Vall, another local criminal who had fled the scene. After questioning, du Vall confessed that he had been hired by Grayson Reed, a British expatriate and recently a real estate investor in Denver, to murder Greeley so Reed could win the tournament. Mr. Reed has been taken into custody and both he and du Vall are expected to hang for their crimes. George Mettery, a wealthy southern gentleman, was at close second to Greeley when he was killed, and ended up taking home the contest purse of $5,000 US dollars. Additionally, the Epitaph was able to secure Mr. du Vall’s full testimony and we’ve learned that he claimed Mr. Greeley was a supernatural creature, perhaps a vampire, and that he actually shot him in self-defense. A wild claim, perhaps, but as many know, anything can happen in Cimarron.